search smart presentation
DESCRIPTION
Brown Bag Presentation given for Attorneys, Paralegals, Secretary's and other Admin staff at the Law Firm I am a Librarian at.TRANSCRIPT
Search Smart: Research Tips & Tricks
Elizabeth Geesey Holmes, MA., MSLIS
Librarian
November 5, 2009
CHOOSE THE RIGHT SEARCH ENGINE
Tip #1
When to use a General Search Engine
• Have unique keywords
• Not sure where to start
• Need broad/ general information
• Looking for a particular website/document
• Think information may be available somewhere for Free
General Search Engines
• Google– http://www.google.com/
• Bing – http://www.bing.com/
• Yahoo!– http://search.yahoo.com/
• Ask– http://www.ask.com/
Meta Search Sites
• Clusty– http://clusty.com/
• Dogpile– http://www.dogpile.com/
Specialized Search Engines
• Blogs
• News
• Images
• Videos
• Government
• Law
Google Search Engines
Click on Show Options
This brings up the list you see in the left hand sidebar
Then click on Videos
Keep in mind how Search Engines work
• Create a list of words by “crawling” the web
• Sift through this index of web pages
• Rank results using parameters of the query
• Every search engine does this a bit differently
Know what’s not included
• Content in sites requiring a log in• CGI output such as data requested by a form• Intranets and other pages not linked from
anywhere else• Sites that use technology to keep files and/or
directories off limits• Non-Web resources
USE ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES
Tip #2
Click on Settings and then on Search Settings
A. Check your settings
Click on Preferences Help
It’s worth taking a few minutes to read through both the Basic Search Help page and the More Search Help page.
B. Read Search Help
Phrase search for Barrington Fitness
C. Use Phrase Searches
Focus you search results with Search within results
D. Search within results
Add an additional keyword to refine your results
New focused searchand results list
Search exactly as is (+)E. Remember Google automatically searches for synonyms. Use + before a word to search precisely for that word.
Search for RI legislation retrieves both Rhode Island and RI
Use Advanced SearchF. Use Advanced Search
And
Or
Phrase
Not
Fill in the blanks (*)F. Use the asterisk to substitute for a word
The above search retrieves all of these different phrases
Evaluate your source
• Authority
• Accuracy
• Objectivity
• Currency
• Ease of Use
DON’T FORGET DIRECTORIES
Tip #3
What are Directories?
• Built by human selection
• Organized into subject categories
• Smaller than most search engines
• Often carefully evaluated and annotated
Directories to try out
• Librarians Internet Index: Websites you can Trust– http://www.lii.org
• Yahoo! Directory– http://dir.yahoo.com/
• Open Directory Search– http://www.dmoz.org/
You can search the Directory’s listings. Also note they have an Advanced Search
Or you can browse by subject categories
The Breadcrumb trail lets you know where you are
Results: reputable/go to sites for legal research
USE COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH SITES
Tip #4
Comprehensive Research Sites
• Good starting place for both primary and secondary information
• Cohesive organization
• Editorial selection
• Reliable information
Cornell Legal Information Institute http://www.law.cornell.edu/index.html
Zimmerman’s Legal Research Guides http://law.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmermans/
Justiahttp://www.justia.com/
Public Legalhttp://www.ilrg.com/
Law Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/law/
LLRXhttp://www.llrx.com/
ASK A LIBRARIAN
Tip #5
Library sub-site on OneSource
DON’T FORGET NON-BILLABLE DATABASES
Tip #6
Databases not billed to our clients
• LoisLaw
• HeinOnline (via the Mass Trial Courts Libraries)
• BNA tax and corporate databases
• AllRegs
• Mass/Bankruptcy Lexis Interface
• Check out their tutorials as well.
TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF OUR LEXIS CONTRACT
Tip #7
• Table of Contents
• Book Browse
• Get a Document
• Related Content
• Reference Attorneys
Click on Browse TOC to go to the Table of Contents
Time is money
• Pick any two:– Fast– Accurate– Cheap
• Fast, accurate & expensive
• Slow, accurate & cheap
• Fast, inaccurate & cheap
Thanks for your time!