INTRO TO LIBRARY RESEARCHENGL 1101

Fall 2012

Erin L. Nagel

Library research

• What do I want to know?• Define an information need and develop a strategy

• Where do I find it?• Know where to look

• How do I know if it’s right for me?• Evaluate information before you use it

Define an information need

• Review your assignment• How many sources? What type(s)? What is the

audience? What is the intended purpose?

• Brainstorm for ideas• Talk to friends; browse web; read newspaper

• Identify main topic and related concepts• Use a thesaurus; break down by subtopic

• Put it all together• Develop a search strategy

Search strategy• Use “ “ or ( ) to keep words together & in order, i.e.,

“senior citizens” or (senior citizens)• Connect with Boolean operators

AND = narrow

OR = expand

NOT = exclude

• AND is automatically used by Google and other search engines to combine terms.

• Sometimes a program will use a + or – to substitute for AND or NOT

PUT IT INTO PRACTICEDeveloping search terms

Search terms• Use these anywhere

CONCEPT 1

Main topic

CONCEPT 2

Related concept

CONCEPT 3

Subtopic

AND AND

OR

synonym

OR

synonym

OR

synonym

OR

synonym

OR

synonym

OR

synonym

Know where to look• Looking for books?

• Use books for comprehensive information, often with an historical perspective

• Find books in the library catalog

• Looking for articles?• Articles are shorter and more current than books. Use when you

need in-depth but narrowly focused information• Find articles in an article database

• Looking for internet resources?• Internet resources are the most current sources for information.

Use the internet when you are looking for current information on a broad variety of topics

• Find internet resources online, but not just anywhere…

How to find: Internet Resources• Search engines not all created equal!• Subject directories organized links to resources

• Online reference Reference sources (dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.)

• Online periodicals Some are free• Web portal may be general or subject-specific• Professional & Trade organizations websites provide industry news, directories, etc.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICESearching the internet

Evaluating Information• Authority• Currency• Content

• Audience• Purpose/Scope• Objectivity/Bias• Accuracy• Quality

TIP: Trust no one!

Evaluate: AuthorityWho wrote the information?What are his/her/their credentials? What affiliations, if any, does the author have?

Is contact information provided?Who published the work? Who sponsored the work?

Evaluate: CurrencyWhen was the work published? Are there multiple editions? Examine currency of references

NOTE: Old ≠ Bad! ex: Historical information does not need to be revisited as often as technological information

© 2012

Evaluate: Content

Who is the intended audience? What is the purpose? What is the scope? Examine objectivity Examine for accuracyIs the information verifiable? Evaluate overall quality

PUT IT INTO PRACTICEEvaluating websites

Step 1: Look at the URL• The URL gives you clues about the author, owner, and/or

publisher of the information• Is it a personal webpage?

• Look for symbols like ~ or %, names, or words like users or members

• What type of domain?• .org, .com, .edu, etc.

• What else does the domain name tell you?• Does it make sense with your topic?

protocol://subdomain.domain.topleveldomain/folder/file.type

protocol://subdomain.domain.topleveldomain/folder/page#anchor

URL domainsExtension Type

.edu Educational institution

.com Commercial organization

.gov Government agency

.mil Military entities

.net Internet service providers

.org Non-profit, religious, charity

.aero Air transportation industry

.biz Businesses

.coop Cooperatives

.info Information

.museum Museums

~ Personal Web page

2-letter country code

Web server in specified country

Your turn!Topic: Alvin Ailey

• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/freetodance/biographies/ailey.html• Great Performances: Free To

Dance - Biographies - Alvin Ailey

• http://movingthroughspace.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/alvin-aileys-revelations/• Alvin Ailey's Revelations «

Move Through Space

Topic: Birds

• http://www.members.tripod.com/~DAdams/qkbrdinf.html• Dani's Pet Bird Care and

Safety Tips and Information

• http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/• The Great Backyard

Bird Count

Step 2: Skim for basic info

• Who is the author? Is contact information provided? • Look for “Contact us” link, email address, etc.

• What are the author’s/producer’s values? • What are the author’s credentials? Why should you believe him/her? • Look for “About” link

• How current is the information? • Look for copyright or update date (usually at the bottom)

Step 3: Assess the content• Are sources provided?• Are there links to suggested resources or further reading?• If bias is present, are there links to other points of view?

• Look for footnotes or web links to sources cited. Look for “See also” or “Related links”

• Do the links work?

• What is the page’s purpose?• Inform, sell, entertain, rant, parody, persuade?

• Is the information complete?• Do the conclusions seem logical?• Is it professional?

• Look for grammar errors and typos. How does the page “feel”?

Your turn!Topic: Alvin Ailey

• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/freetodance/biographies/ailey.html• Great Performances: Free To

Dance - Biographies - Alvin Ailey

• http://movingthroughspace.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/alvin-aileys-revelations/• Alvin Ailey's Revelations «

Move Through Space

Topic: Birds

• http://www.members.tripod.com/~DAdams/qkbrdinf.html• Dani's Pet Bird Care and

Safety Tips and Information

• http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/• The Great Backyard

Bird Count

Step 4: See what others say

• Who else uses the page?• Enter the URL into http://alexa.com • Try a Google search with “link:www.pagename.com/file/path.htm”

• What else is known about the author/creator/publisher?• Enter the URL into http://whois.net • Perform an internet search

Your turn!Topic: Alvin Ailey

• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/freetodance/biographies/ailey.html• Great Performances: Free To

Dance - Biographies - Alvin Ailey

• http://movingthroughspace.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/alvin-aileys-revelations/• Alvin Ailey's Revelations «

Move Through Space

Topic: Birds

• http://www.members.tripod.com/~DAdams/qkbrdinf.html• Dani's Pet Bird Care and

Safety Tips and Information

• http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/• The Great Backyard

Bird Count

Step 5: Final decision

• Is it good enough?• Would you find information of a similar quality in a printed or subscription resource?

• Is it right for your assignment based on your answers in the previous steps?

Putting it all together• Know your assignment• Clarify your topic• Be flexible in your search• Critically evaluate your resources

“Intro to Library Research” © 2012 Erin Nagel uses material from “Google and Beyond Slides” by UC Berkeley Library, Copyright © 2012 The Regents of the University of California available at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Handouts.html usedunder a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ )