Effective Searching

Being Information Literate in a Digital World

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Learn How to Search

Strategies• Help identify sources

• Select the best sources

• Understand search engines– Boolean Logic– Keywords– Phrases

• Utilize other sources– Online libraries– Catalogs– databases

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Why learn effective searching skills?• Be able to find best

resources• Save time•Lifetime skills

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Developing research skills• Information Literacy

Skills– Discover– Evaluate– Use– Filter

• Information Literacy skills help students– Analyze– Strategize– Evaluate– Develop Scholarly Processes

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Research skills

Research skills help

students verify:– What is reliable– Authoritative– Current– Unbiased– Accurate

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Steps for Searching, Verifying, & Evaluating1. Understand and

acknowledge2. Create a Worksheet3. Develop strategy4. Search engines5. Evaluate

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Analyze Websites

• Who is the author?

• Who is the audience?

• What is the purpose?

• Information current?

• Is it Accurate?• Is it Unbiased?

(Images, 2012)

Primary Sources“primary source, adj. a first-hand, direct source of information or research, such as the words of a person who is the subject, official government records, or the memoirs of others; document examined that had not been amended by a third party…”

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Primary Sources• Letters• Literary manuscripts• Newspapers• Books and monographs• Records• Personal and official

correspondence• Photos• Diaries• Minutes of meetings• Personal memoirs

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Identifying the Best Sources of Information• Online encyclopedias• Books• Scholarly journals• Articles• Publications

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When to use What Source• Books• Scholarly Journals• Magazines• Newspapers

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Topic Current or Old?• Current

– Websites– Newspaper– Magazines

• Older– Almanacs– Yearbooks– Encyclopedias– Books– Scholarly Journals

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Evaluate Internet Sources• Authority• Coverage• Objectivity• Accuracy• Up-to-date• Purpose• Verifiability• Relevance

(Steiner, 1993)

Evaluate Internet Sources

Recognize fact from

fiction– Develop and use critical

thinking skills– Consider the source

(Images6, 1993)

Keep Track of Sources

• Bookmark Sites• Resource Sharing

– Add notes, highlights, and drawings– Capture web pages– Share online research

• Resource Sharing Websites– Scrible– Surfmark– Huddle– Merlot

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Keep Track of Sources

• Social Bookmarking– Twitter – Most Used– Pinterest– Reddit– StumbleUpon– Delicious– Digg

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Keep Track of Sources

• RSS Feeds– NetVibes– ChimpFeedr– Newsblur– Feedly

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(RSS Feeds, 2012)

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(Images10, 2004)

Searching is a Mental Game• Games and activities

increase:– Literacy– Problem Solving– Research Skills

• Games and Activities require:– Ability– Repetition– Commitment– Practice– Step by step process

“To prosper in the Digital Age, people

must become masters of

information.” (Stern, 2003)

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ReferencesALA – American Literacy Association. (2011). Information literacy for faculty and administrators. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/acrl/issues/infolit/overview/faculty/faculty#know

Beck, S. (2009). The good, the bad, and the ugly: Why it's a good idea to evaluate web sources. Retrieved from: http://www.lib.vt.edu/instruct/evaluate/

Burg, B., Gilroy, S., Heath, K., Herron, J., Jehn, T., Orban, K., Rosenzweig, J., Ryan, S., Sommers, N., Sutherland, S., & Zakarin, B. (2007). Writing with internet sources. Retrieved from: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic500638.files/Writing_with_Internet_Sources.pdf

Feijoo, A. (2005). Finding and evaluation information on the internet. Retrieved from: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/publications-a-z/490-finding-and-evaluating-information-on-the-internet

Glasbergen, R. (2013). Cartoons. Retrieved from: www.google.com

Images. (2010). Microsoft Office 2010 ClipArt.

Images2. (2013). Search image. Retrieved from: http://www.pagetrafficbuzz.com/reasons-online-searching-identified-aboutcom/11295/

Images3. (2013). Information literacy. Retrieved from: http://www.beloit.edu/library/infolit/

Images4. (2012). Cartoon. Retrieved from: http://dborck.wordpress.com/category/research/

Images5. (2013). Internet sources. Retrieved from: http://www.synergysites.com/services/

Images6. (2013). Critical thinking. Retrieved from: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Critical-Thinking-Posters/771250

Images7. (2013). Social bookmarking. Retrieved from: http://www.seo-alchemy.com/social-bookmarks-contextual-wiki-links/

Images8. (2013). Primary sources. Retrieved from: http://guides.lib.purdue.edu/content.php?pid=282374&sid=2324827

Images9. (2013). Primary sources. Retrieved from: http://www.lib.msu.edu/exhibits/primesource/

Images10. (2004). Effective researching. Retrieved from: http://www.kyvl.org/kids/homebase.html

Information Literacy. (2011). Information literacy. Retrieved from: http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/

Information Literacy. (2013). Information literacy at beloit college. Retrieved from: http://www.beloit.edu/library/infolit/

Information Sources. (n.d.). Strategies for identifying information sources. Retrieved from: http://info-skills.lib.vt.edu/selecting_info/7.html

Kelly, T. (1999). Whales in the minnesota river. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/circuits/articles/04trut.html#1

Owen, L. (2012). Can you trust that link? Retrieved from: http://internetsafety.trendmicro.com/can-you-trust-that-link

Primary Sources. (n.d.). Why are primary sources important? Retrieved from: http://www.gale.cengage.com/

Primary Sources. (2008). What are primary sources? Retrieved from: http://www.yale.edu/collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html

Research Skills for Education. (2013). Identifying information sources. Retrieved from: http://rmit.libguides.com/content.php?pid=4587&sid=28111

RSS Feeds. (2012). RSS feeds. Retrieved from: http://www.culpeperchamber.com/chamber/RSSFeeds.asp

Smith, F. (2007). Games for teaching information literacy skills. Retrieved from: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/f-smith.htm

Social Bookmarking. (2013). Top 15 most popular social bookmarking website. Retrieved from: http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-bookmarking-websites

Spitzer, K., Eisenbert, M., & Lowe, C. (1998). Information literacy: Essential skills for the information age. Retrieved from: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED427780.pdf

Steiner, P. (1993). Cartoon – The new yorker. Retrieved from: http://valenciacollege.edu/library/wp/additional/Evaluating_Web_Sites/

Stern, C. (2003). Quote. Retrieved from: http://infolit.org/about-the-nfil/nfil-champions/#sthash.THI1ANxs.dpuf

SubmitWagon. (2012). Social bookmarking. Retrieved from: http://www.submitwagon.co.uk/Social-Bookmarking-Service.html#sthash.niDcf2aK.dpuf

USD – University of South Dakota. (2013). Why it is important for you to acquire research skills?http://www.usd.edu/library/information-literacy-research-skills-page-2.cfm

Wordle. (2013). Graphic. Created using http://wordle.net

A Little Internet Humor

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