1. IL Step 2: Searching for Information
Information Literacy

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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
Information Literacy

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Cognitive Models of IR Berrypicking Exploratory Search
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
Traditional Model
Berrypicking Model (Bates, 1989)
Information Literacy