effective search strategies
DESCRIPTION
Effective Search Strategies. Why we’re here. Why you want to do a literature search what do you get from it? Learn to set up a search in a way the computer can work with Select appropriate resources to search Find and use the articles you’ve found. Why do you want to do a search?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Effective Search Strategies
Why we’re here
• Why you want to do a literature searchwhat do you get from it?
• Learn to set up a search in a way the computer can work with
• Select appropriate resources to search
• Find and use the articles you’ve found
Why do you want to do a search?• Why – affects:
What you are looking for affects:Where you look andWhat question you ask
• Where you search = what are you looking for?Webpages Google, Yahoo, Alta
VistaBooks TrellisJournal articles Research Databases
• Never count on a computer search to get you everything!
A simple sample searchIs laughter the best medicine?
1. Is laughter the best medicine?humor therapeutic
2. (laughter OR humor) AND (medicine OR therapeutic)
3. 55 documentsbrief records displayed 25 at a time
Disposal of hazardous wastes in Ontario
Disposal of hazardous wastes in Ontario
Disposal | hazardous wastes | Ontario
Cleanup | toxic wastes | Quebec
Dumping | industrial wastes | Alberta
Recycling | | Canada
Generating word lists
• Watch for spelling differences – British vs. American spellings, plurals
• List the words that are mandatory, what makes your topic unique
• Avoid words not relevant to your search
• List component parts as well as collective
The computer will only look for what you ask it to
Logical Connectors
• ORcleanup OR dumping
• ANDdumping AND wastes
• NOTtoxic NOT radioactive
Disposal of hazardous wastes in Ontario
Disposal | hazardous wastes | Ontario
Cleanup | toxic wastes | Quebec
Dumping | industrial wastes | Alberta
Recycling | | Canada
OR OR OR
Disposal of hazardous wastes in Ontario
Disposal | hazardous wastes | Ontario
Cleanup | toxic wastes | Quebec
Dumping | industrial wastes | Alberta
Recycling | | Canada
AND AND
Disposal of hazardous wastes in Ontario
Disposal | hazardous wastes | OntarioCleanup | toxic wastes | QuebecDumping | industrial wastes | AlbertaRecycling| | Canada
Becomes(disposal or cleanup or dump* or recycl*) and (hazardous wastes or toxic wastes or industrial wastes) and (canad* or ontario or quebec or alberta)
Note () to keep concepts together
Truncation or Wildcards
• Computer* to retrieve
computer or computers orcomputerised or computerized orcomputerisation or computerization . . .
• Cart* (thinking cart or carts) will also get
cartography, cartoons, cartwheel, cartilage, cartesian, . . .
Database choice can be critical
• Chose your database based on where someone is most likely to publish.
• Selection of a good database can reduce the number of strange citations.
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca
When the best-planned search goes awry
Disposal of hazardous wastes in Ontario
Disposal | hazardous wastes | Ontario
Cleanup | toxic wastes | Quebec
Dumping | industrial wastes | Alberta
Recycling | | Canada
When the best-planned search goes awry – too many hits
Add another column
Disposal of hazardous wastes in Ontario soils
Disposal hazardous wastes Ontario soil
Cleanup toxic wastes Quebec clay
Dumping industrial wastes Alberta gravel
Recycling Canada
When the best-planned search goes awry – too many hits
Remove terms generating unwanted references
Disposal of hazardous wastes in OntarioDisposal | hazardous wastes | OntarioCleanup | toxic wastes | QuebecDumping | industrial wastes | AlbertaRecycling | | Canada
When the best-planned search goes awry – too few hits
Delete a column
Disposal of hazardous wastesDisposal | hazardous wastes |Cleanup | toxic wastes |Dumping | industrial wastes |Recycling | |
When the best-planned search goes awry – too few hits
Reduce phrases to individual words
Disposal of wastes in OntarioDisposal | wastes | OntarioCleanup | | QuebecDumping | | AlbertaRecycling | | Canada
When the best-planned search goes awry – too few hits
Add more terms
Disposal of hazardous wastes in OntarioDisposal| hazardous wastes | OntarioCleanup | toxic wastes | QuebecDumping | industrial wastes | AlbertaRecycling | | CanadaRedirection |Trucking|Transport |
When the best-planned search goes awry
• Try other databases:- Ethics in engineering – Phil Index or Compendex- Office psychology – ABI/Inform or PsycINFO
• Broaden your search by searching by author
• Cited Reference searching
Getting the articles
• The GetIt linkcan often take you to thearticle or journal table of contents
• Trellis tells you if we have the journal or books in print or electronically
• CISTI Source for grads & faculty
• Interlibrary Loan/RACER for whatever remains
Cited Reference Searching
2005
1995
Web of Science
• Covers:arts & humanities 1975 – presentsocial sciences 1956 – presentscience & technology 1900 – present
What about Google & Google Scholar?
• The searching is different but some of your preparations would be similar.
• You have to decide the quality of the material. You often have to do much more filtering of junk.
• There are gaps in Google Scholar’s coverage. What’s the sorting? Different results on different days!
Review• Determine what you are looking for
- write down the ideal title- what are the most common synonyms?
• Select the database most likely to have what you are looking for.
• Search using the words in your list, combining them with brackets and logical connectors
Review – pt. 2
• Review your results critically- what’s good about the ones you like?- what other words, spellings can be used?- Check the bibliographies and citing references
• Find your articles by searching for the journal title in Trellis or by using GetIt@Waterloo
More Help?
Drop by the Reference Desk Phone the Reference Desk Use the Chat Reference service Contact your liaison librarian
Ask a Librarian
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/asklib/index.html