Searching & Evaluating Resources
Rhetoric 1302Hillary Campbell
WWW vs. Periodical Databases
WWW Contains text,
graphics, sound, and video
Anyone can publish pages on the Web.
Numerous hits with many duplicates
Unregulated source of information
Periodical Databases Access to very
specific information Relatively high
degree of authority on the information found within
No duplicates
Searching the Web
Government information/Web sites Associations & organizations Commercial sites Current news (limited) “Specialty” sites
Searching Periodical Databases
Greater concern for authoritative sources
More powerful “advanced” searching
Need to research articles Need newspaper archives/backfiles
Developing a Search Strategy
Select a topic Identify keywords Identify synonyms Group concepts and add
connectors (Boolean) Use truncation and/or wildcard
keys if available
Selecting a Topic and Determining Keywords
After deciding on a topic, write down the topic in the form of a sentence or question.
What is the relationship between minorities and the high incarceration rates in some states?
Look at your question and pull out the most important words.
Minorities / incarceration rates / states
Identifying Synonyms Take your keywords and find other
words that also describe your topic. Also write down narrower and broader terms to help refine your search.
Minorities – African Americans – Blacks – Hispanics – Latin Americans
Incarceration rates – prison rates – crime rates – prison counts
States – geographic areas – regions -- Texas
Group Concepts
Group concepts together by parentheses or quotation marks
“incarceration rates” “state of Texas”
or
(incarceration rates) (state of Texas)
Proximity connectors
w or w5 (“with”) – searches for two terms in the order typed
n or n5 (“near”) – searches for two terms in any order
“ “ quotation marks – groups terms together as a phrase
Examples
African w American rate n3 crime “state of Texas” which is the same
as state w of w Texas
Add connectors
Connectors (Boolean) AND-both terms must appear
together in the record (narrows search)
OR-either term appears in the record (broadens search)
NOT-placed before term omits all records featuring this term in them
Examples
“African American” AND “crime rate”
“Hispanic” OR “Latin American”
(“crime rate” OR “incarceration rate”) AND minorities
Use truncation and/or wildcard keys if available
Both use a special key (*, ?, #, $) depending on the source used
Truncation - When key placed at end of term, all variations of word (from “trunk” onward) found.
Wildcard key – Replaces a single character and makes it a “wildcard” for any letter in the alphabet.
Examples minorit*
minority minorities
Wom?n women woman womyn
“incarceration rate*” AND minorit*
OR
Crim* AND wom?n
Evaluating Sources (ABC’s)
Audience Authority Bias Currency Scope
Audience
What age group/education level/political affiliation/etc. is the audience?
Is this for a person with in-depth knowledge or a layperson?
Authority
Does the author’s name appear on the Web page?
What are his/her credentials? Does the author provide contact
information?
Bias
Is the source objective? Could the writer or the
organization’s affiliation put a different spin on the information presented?
What is the purpose of the source?
Currency
When was the work published? When was the work last updated? How old are the sources or items
in the bibliography? How current is the topic? If a Web page, do the links work?
Scope
What does/doesn’t the work cover?
Is it an in-depth study (many pages) or superficial (one page)?
Are sources and statistics cited? If a site, does it offer unique info
not found in any other source?
Selecting a Search Engine
Use Search Engine Watch or Search Engine Showdown to find and compare.
Choose only 2 or 3 search engines and learn them well. Use help screen/search tips to educate
yourself on advanced options. Familiarize yourself with the advanced
search, if available.
Selecting Your Database(s)
Choose by subject http://www.utdallas.edu/library/reference/subjectdata.html
Descriptions of each database are provided in the alphabetical listing
Ask a Reference Librarian – we know what’s best!
Popular magazines & Scholarly Journals
What’s the difference?
Popular Vs. Scholarly Intended for a
general audience. Articles written by
journalists who may or may not have special training
Articles do not have footnotes
Magazines have advertising, photographs, and glossy pages
For Profit Not Peer-reviewed
Intended for an audience knowledgeable in the field
Article are written by scholars, who’s names are listed along with credentials
Articles are footnoted and list sources used
No advertising, few photographs, and usually printed on plain paper
Usually not for profit Peer-reviewed
Citing your sources
MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style, and other citation manuals available at the Reference Desk.
Copies may be available in Main Stacks
Need help citing? The writing lab can help.
On-Line Sources for citing Citation Style Guides by Auburn University
http://www.lib.auburn.edu/citations.html Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism by Duke
University http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/citing.htm Online! Citation Styles by Bedford/St. Martin’s
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html
Documentation Guide – Turabian http://juno.concordia.ca/faqs/turabian.html
Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement by Dartmouth College http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sources/index.html
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