Keuka Information Literacy Online
Module I: Steps to ease you on your way to efficient research.
Step 1: Analyze your assignment

Step 2: "What is the problem to be solved or
the question to be answered?"
Step 3: Identify the main ideas or concepts
Step 4: Identify keywords
 Step 5: Formulate search strategy

 

Step 1: Analyze your assignment

So you don’t waste your time spinning your wheels,
take the time to make sure you understand what your professor wants.

Determine:

Type of paper or presentation

Length of paper or presentation
Number and/or type of
resources required
  • articles, scholarly vs. popular
  • books
  • reference materials
  • websites
    • Due date.
  • This is particularly important if you find you need to get books or articles through interlibrary loan, which can take 2-3 weeks.
  • Are there several due dates?
    e.g. outline due, bibliography due, etc.

    • Step 2:

    Before beginning your research determine:

    "What is the problem to be solved, or the question to be answered?"

    Try to put the question in one clear sentence. If you don’t understand what it is you’re looking for, it will be very hard to find. Here are some examples of topics:
    Step 3: Identify the main ideas or concepts

    Now that you understand what you are searching for you need to identify the main ideas or concepts.

    The online library catalog, online databases and search engines are actually dumber than dirt.

    We are not yet at the point where we can walk up to the computer and say, "Computer, give me all the information you have on the birth of jazz." (Though it may happen the day after you graduate. Frustrating, huh?)

    To communicate with the computer we have to break things down into KEYWORDS. Then the computer goes searching for matches to those words.

    So, what are the main ideas from the sample topics?

    Step 4: Identify keywords

    One of the problems with concepts and keywords is that often the words we think to use are not the words that authors, or databases use.

    This means that we need to broaden our thinking to bring in synonyms to include in our searches, if our own words don’t bring back the information we need.

    Some helpful ways to broaden our choices are:

    Here are some examples of keywords for our example searches that were improved with the help of LC Subject Headings:
    Step 5: Formulate search strategy

    Take a look at this handout on Online Searching.

    Now we’re about ready to start searching for information. Using what we’ve learned about keywords and Boolean Logic we can try the following searches.

    The first example for each would be best in the online Library Catalog, and possibly the online databases.

    The others would be useful with Internet search engines and online databases.

    We will go into details of searching these in later Modules.

    Brainstorming

    You can use brainstorming to come up with alternative keywords.

    Working by yourself, or with a study group,

    If you get stuck, take a look at a dictionary or thesaurus or your textbook to see if you find any words that get you off and running again.

    When you are sure you can’t come up with anything else.

    Now your list contains words that might become good KEYWORDS, if the ones you start with aren’t bringing you the information you need.

    The following is borrowed from "LILI: Learn Information Literacy Initiative" of the South Australia Department of Education Training and Employment.

    http://www.tafe.sa.edu.au/lili/module3/

    Brainstorming.

    It's a mental treasure hunt – full of glass beads and gold doubloons, dead ends and sure things.

    Brainstorming is a quick – and fun – way to come up with some keywords.

    1. Read your assignment carefully – making a list of the (key) words and phrases
    2. Roll those words and phrases around in your own mind and with someone else – defining, expanding, connecting
    3. Hunt for synonyms (words which have similar meanings to the words on your list) – milking those words and phrases for every possibility
    4. If you stall, consult
      1. a reference work (dictionary, glossary, thesaurus, encyclopedia)
      2. a book from your course reading list (Table of Contents, Index)
    5. When the storm has passed (!), use
      1. your assignment + your common sense to separate the totally bright from the really dull keywords on your list
      2. those keywords to search databases.

    It's important to explore words and phrases, because:

    Depending on the databases you use, You could find any or all of these words – and they could lead you to useful information.

    Library of Congress Subject Headings

    LC Subject Headings are referred to as a controlled vocabulary. It’s a four volume set of red books.

    Similar controlled vocabularies that are subject specific are the

    All of these are in the front of the library near the reference computers. Ask if you need help finding them.

    We use the LC Subject Headings

    Look at this online handout to learn how to read LC Subject Headings

    So in the online handout we started with the term "Ethnicity" and ended up with words to