IL Step 2: Searching for Information Information Literacy 1

Searching for Information: Introduction Questions to consider ► What exactly am I looking for? ► Where might I find it? ► How much do I need? Types of Search ► Known Item Search ► Simple Search ► Complex Search ► Following a Thread Information Literacy 2

Search Type: Known Item Search Example ► Need the full-text of a publication with known bibliographic information You know author, article title, journal title Strategy 1 ► Search for article title in Library Catalogue (LC) ► Problem LC searches at the level of book & journal titles Strategy 2 ► Search for journal title in LC ► Search in the located journal for the article Strategy 3 ► Search the bibliographic databases Information Literacy 3

Search Type: Simple Search Characteristic ► Uses a single word or phrase to search Case 1 ► Subject is straightforward ► Need just a few relevant documents ► e.g., smart phone, skype Case 2 ► Need to get a quick overview of the data content Case 3 ► To identify related terms to improve the query Synonyms, technical terms, jargons Information Literacy 4

Search Type: Complex Search Characteristic ► Involves a combination of search terms ► Needs a search strategy Search Strategy ► Identify key concepts ► Find the right search terms ► Combine search terms ► Apply search options ► Refine the search Information Literacy 5

Complex Search: Search Strategy Identify Key Concepts ► Write out a few detailed sentences about the topic Main themes can be illustrated by the keywords used in the topic description ► Split your subject into main themes/concepts and identify keywords Underline the main words in the sentences. Why should academic libraries get more involved in the research process and be responsible for data curation? ► Keywords and key phrases provide initial search terms Information Literacy 6

Complex Search: Search Strategy Find the Right Search Terms ► Expand the key concepts with additional terms Synonyms, related terms, word variations Via dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedia, Simple Search ► Synonyms Acronyms: e.g., Geographical Information Systems/GIS Local variations: e.g. maize/corn ► Word Variations Singular and plural forms: e.g. woman/women Grammatical variations like nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs  e.g. tourist/tourism, house/housing ► Related Terms Ideas associated with the subject  e.g., leisure: recreation, vacation, tourism Broader Terms  To find more general information (e.g., Hyundai: Corporation) Narrower Terms  To find more specific information (e.g., Hyundai: Heavy Industries) Information Literacy 7

Complex Search: Search Strategy Combine Search Terms ► Define relation between search terms ► AND → terms/concepts that are not related Retrieves records that include all terms Narrows the search ► OR → related terms, synonyms Retrieves records that include either terms Broadens the search ► NOT → antonyms, alternate terms for polysemes Eliminates records that include NOT term Narrows the search Information Literacy 8

Complex Search: Search Strategy Apply Search Options ► Learn the search options available in your search tool ► General Search Options Wildcards (Truncation, Masking)  Single character: analy?e to findfor analyze, analyse  Multiple characters: analy* for analyze, analyse, analysis, analytical, etc. Phrase Search (Exact Match)  Multi-term concept: “citation analysis”  Find records with the exact phrase Proximity Search  Find records with words near one another  e.g., citation NEAR analysis Field Search  Search specific fields (e.g., title, author)  Typical database search Information Literacy 9

Complex Search: Search Strategy Refine the Search ► Too few results Use more synonyms, word variations or related terms combined with OR. Use broader, more general terms Use fewer concepts Reduce search limits (e.g., field restriction, publication date) Check for spelling mistakes Choose another database ► Too many results Remove broad search terms, or word variations Add an extra concept if appropriate Limit the search (e.g., title, year) Information Literacy 10

Search Type: Following a Thread Characteristic ► Uses relevant items found as introductions to other information Case 1 ► Browse the shelves/categories where relevant item is found Books on a subject are often shelved together For digital information, use the categories as virtual shelves Case 2 ► Use citations/references to find related (older) information Scholarly publications contain citations and reference lists They point to the sources of author’s information, related research, or seminal work in author’s field Usually cited works are of high quality Case 3 ► Search for related article of relevant item in databases Related articles have a number of common references Offered by some bibliographical databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Pubmed) Information Literacy 11

Online Resources Simple Search ► Google Google ► Answers.com Answers.com ► Ask.com Ask.com Dictionary/Thesaurus ► Dictionary.com Dictionary.com ► Merriam-Webster Online Merriam-Webster Online ► The Free Dictionary The Free Dictionary ► WordNet WordNet Encyclopedia ► Wikipedia Wikipedia ► Britannica Britannica ► Encyclopedia.com Encyclopedia.com Information Literacy 12

Sample Questions List the key concepts in the topic description below. “Can GIS and Earth Observation techniques be used to aid hydrologic analysis?”  GIS Earth Observation hydrologic analysis Information Literacy 13

Sample Questions List the potential search terms associated with key concepts. “Can GIS and Earth Observation techniques be used to aid hydrologic analysis?”  ► GIS GIS, geographic information system(s), geospatial information system(s) ► Earth Observation earth observation technology, earth observation technologies ► hydrologic analysis hydrologic(al) analysis, hydrologic(al) model(ing), water management, water resources analysis Information Literacy 14

Sample Questions Define relationships between search terms. “Can GIS and Earth Observation techniques be used to aid hydrologic analysis?” ► GIS GIS, geographic information system(s), geospatial information system(s) ► Earth Observation earth observation technology, earth observation technologies ► hydrologic analysis hydrologic(al) analysis, hydrologic(al) model(ing), water management, water resources analysis  (GIS OR geographic information system(s) OR geospatial information system(s)) AND (earth observation technology OR earth observation technologies) AND (hydrologic(al) analysis OR hydrologic(al) model(ing) OR water management OR water resources analysis) Information Literacy 15

Sample Questions Refine the query below with search options (i.e., wildcard, exact match, proximity match, field search) “Can GIS and Earth Observation techniques be used to aid hydrologic analysis?” ► GIS, Earth Observation, hydrologic analysis  (GIS OR geographic information system(s) OR geospatial information system(s)) AND (earth observation technology OR earth observation technologies) AND (hydrologic(al) analysis OR hydrologic(al) model(ing) OR water management OR water resources analysis)  (GIS OR “geographic information system?” OR “geospatial information system?”) AND (“earth observation technolog*”) AND (“hydrologic* analysis” OR “hydrologic* model* OR “water management” OR “water resources analysis”) Information Literacy 16

Sample Questions The query below returned too few results. Reformulate the query. “Can GIS and Earth Observation techniques be used to aid hydrologic analysis?” ► GIS, Earth Observation, hydrologic analysis  (GIS OR “geographic information system?” OR “geospatial information system?”) AND (“earth observation technolog*”) AND (“hydrologic* analysis” OR “hydrologic* model* OR “water management” OR “water resources analysis”)  (GIS OR “geographic information system?” OR “geospatial information system?”) OR (“earth observation technolog*”) AND (“hydrologic* analysis” OR “hydrologic* model* OR “water management” OR “water resources analysis”) Information Literacy 17

Cognitive Models of IR Berrypicking ► Search evolves as searchers’ cognitive model changes search → evaluate → new relevant information → modified search (query, method, data source) → repeat Exploratory Search ► Iterative refinement of search ill-defined search goals evolving criteria for relevance Information Literacy 18 Traditional Model Berrypicking Model (Bates, 1989)