LAKSAMEE PUTNAMLPUTNAM@TOWSON.EDU

RESEARCH & INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN

ISTC 201: Using Information Effectively

Comics Studio with Ellen Forney

Thursday October 13th, 20112-3:30PMCook Library 507 – Towson room

Cartoonist Ellen Forney, the mind behind the comics and artwork in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, will teach participants how to develop their own comic art, including text and illustration. Attendance is limited to 25 students; please contact Patricia MacDonald, Cook Library, pmacdonald@towson.edu to register.

Comics: The Extraordinary Power of Words and Pictures

Thursday October 13th, 20117-8:30PMUniversity Union - Potomac

Lounge

Comics are enjoying a new respect as a compelling literary medium. Join Ellen Forney, creator of the art in this year’s One Maryland One Book selection, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, as she enthuses about their quirky appeal in a presentation about both her solo projects and her work with the novel.

First…

Laksamee Putnamlputnam@towson.eduCook Library Reference:

410.704.2462. IM/email

Phone: 410.704.3746.Twitter: @CookLibraryofTUAlbert S. Cook facebook profile!

Take away…

Research Process Overview

General search strategy

Brainstorming keywords

Interpreting the Assignment

Reading Background Information

Using Online

Databases& Indexes

Gathering Sources

Drafting Paper or Presentation

Identifying & Listing

Vocabulary

Citing Sources

Refining a Topic

Evaluating Sources

The Research Process

Selecting a Topic

research skills ≠ needle in the haystack

Web “Pre-Searching”

Why or why not start your search online? Respond here: http://bit.ly/ISTC201web

Web “Pre-Searching”

Why not start your search online? The Invisible Web

http://goshen.libguides.com/beyond_googling

Can you trust this information?

TED video: Online filter bubble – Eli Pariser http://

www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html

Web “Pre-Searching”

Why start your search online?

Find background information

Help solidify research topic

Find new terminology to use as keywords

Find links and/or citations to other sources

Identify Subject Gateways, Course Gateways for your course or topic…

Cook Library’s Course and Subject Gateways

… and other familiar tools to identifywebsites with academic content.

Source: www.wikipedia.org.

Source: www.google.com.

Try new features to help build your keyword list and search strategy.

Keep this in mind!Any topic might include various facets that you might want to explore and consider as you clarify your topic at the beginning of the research process.

Search Terms and Keyword Reminders

Keywords come from the search question

Use Boolean “search connectors” to combine keywords in ways that capture the results you need

Good searching starts with good keywords

Boolean “search connectors”

AND OR NOT

For example:

internet AND children• Combining >1 topic

instruct OR teach• Combining synonymous terms

Search Tip #1

Use AND when you need to combine more than one topic

Innovation AND education

educationinnovation

Search Tip #2

Use OR to combine synonymous terms (to get results regardless of what term an author uses).

Go here and post a few more! http://bit.ly/ISTC201teach

teach instruct

Search Tip #3

Use truncation!

Educat* finds Educate Education Educating Educator

Etc…

Search Tip #4

Phrase Searching… Use quotations to keep a keyword phrase intact

(words will be searched in the specific order)

Examples: “No Child Left Behind” “school reform”

Keywords are critical!

Sample topic: What are some ways elementary teachers can assess

whether a certain technology solution is effective?

First, break the question down into keywords: What are some ways elementary teachers can assess

whether a certain technology solution is effective?

More on keywords…

Expand your list to include synonyms then add to it once you have done some background reading.

What are some ways elementary teachers can assess whether a certain technology solution is effective?

teach* assess* technolog*learn evaluat* comput*strateg* test* [software name]method gaugeinstruct*

Putting it all together…

What are some ways elementary teachers can assess whether a certain technology solution is effective?

teach*instruct*method*learn*

assess*evaluate*

test*

technolog*comput*

[software name]

teach* OR instruct* OR method* OR learn*

AND

assess* OR evaluate* OR test*

AND

technolog* OR comput* OR kidspiration

Searching for academic content

Articulate your topic by choosing important ideas

Brainstorm Ideas Concept Map Terminology/Keywords

Dig for the content

EVALUATE!

Fill in your own keywords

Come up with the keywords for your own search

Fill in the worksheet

Go do your own web pre-searching

Find one “bad” website and find one “good” website, explain how you found it and why you consider it a good/bad resource.

Questions?

Feel free to contact me: Laksamee Putnam lputnam@towson.edu 410.704.3746. Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU

Or any reference librarian: Visit Cook Library Reference Desk 410.704.2462. IM – tucookchat