South College Library Orientation: Part II

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South College Library Orientation Part II

• Winter Quarter 2008

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Topics covered in this presentation

• Selecting a resource (Databases vs Web
  searching)
  
• Boolean Searching
• Keyword vs Subject searching

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Part II Effective Searching

• In order to effectively use the resources
  provided by the library, it is important to
  understand a few key concepts.

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Disclaimer

• This presentation will guide you through some
  basic search techniques. It assumes that you have
  completed Part I of the library orientation, and
  are familiar with the library website and have
  used the databases before.
• If you need additional assistance with any of the
  concepts discussed in this presentation, please
  contact a librarian.
  

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Key Concept I

• Selecting a resource

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Choosing a format

• Different resources will provide different kinds
  of information.
  
• For instance looking up a word in a dictionary
  will produce different information than looking
  up the same word in an encyclopedia.

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Databases and Webpages

• The most common problem is understanding the
  difference between the type of information
  produced by searching databases and webpages.
  
• Both resources are accessed by computers, and
  sometimes the resources they search can even
  overlap.

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• Yet, understanding the difference between these
  two types of resources can be even more important
  than understanding the difference between an
  encyclopedia and a dictionary.

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• Trying to use them interchangeably often leads to
  ineffective searching and frustration.
  

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• While there can be no hard and fast rule,
  understanding a few basic facts about each will
  make it easier to make an informed decision about
  which to use.

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Some crucial facts about each

• Databases
• Scholarly information that has been carefully
  selected and paid for by the library.
  
• Often comes from print journals or scholarly
  publications
  
• Organized

• Webpages
• World wide communications network.
• Majority are not scholarly in nature.
• Often unorganized

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Databases vs Webpages continued

• The internet is an amazing tool that has a
  variety of wonderful resources. For instance,
  this guide to evaluating web based resources,
  provided by Cornell University Libraryhttp//ww
  w.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeva
  l.html

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• However, it is important to think carefully about
  the kind of information that you want to
  obtain.
  
• Often, databases will provide superior
  information by producing organized results from
  scholarly publications selected by experts.
  

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Key Concept II

• Boolean Searching

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Boolean Searching

• Although you may not know it, understanding
  Boolean logic is fundamental to producing a good
  search.
  
• It is used in many of the databases South College
  provides, as well as most popular search
  engines.
  
• For instance Google by default uses the Boolean
  search term AND between all words in its search.

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So what is Boolean logic?

• The three most common Boolean search terms are
  

These terms are the building blocks that will
enable you to construct more effective searches.
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- AND creates a more narrow search

• Example Love AND Marriagewill find results
  that involve both terms.

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- ORexpands the search

• Example Employment OR Jobwill find results
  that include either term.

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- NOTlimits the search

• Example Nurse NOT Doctorwill find results that
  exclude the word doctor.
  

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Boolean searching continued

• This logic underlies many of the databases you
  encounter, but it can manifest itself in
  different ways.

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For example

• When searching the PubMed database, Boolean
  search terms (in all capital letters) can be type
  directly into the search box.

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While in the Library Catalog

• The Boolean search terms are incorporated into
  the search screen.

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Key Concept III

• Keyword vs Subject Searching

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• Another concept that is key to conducting
  effective database searches is the difference
  between keyword and subject searching

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• Like Boolean logic, the specific setup may change
  between databases, but the underlying logic will
  almost always remain the same.
  

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• The crucial difference is that keyword searching
  looks broadly for any mention of the word.
  
• While subject searching only looks for uses of
  controlled vocabulary that have been chosen in
  advance.
  
• These words are selected by the database
  provider, and represent a more organized search
  that can be a powerful tool when used properly.
  

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• The disadvantage of subject searching is that if
  you do not use the same word that was used by the
  provider, you will often get fewer results to
  your search.

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For example

• A keyword search for the word law provides a
  wide array of results.
  
• In the example given, the book Basics of Law
  Librarianship came up as the first result because
  of the word Law in the title.

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• A subject search produces a different set of
  results however.
  
• This time the first result was Landmarks of law
  highlights of legal opinion
  
• By clicking on the highlighted text we can better
  understand the difference.

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• In a subject search, only the Subject field is
  searched.
  
• This produces a much more powerful search when
  using the proper subject term.
  
• But it is less effective for more general
  searching.

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Summary

• Keyword
• Similar to the vocabulary used in effective web
  searches.
  
• Searches multiple fields such as title,
  description and abstract (if available).

• Subject
• Utilizes controlled vocabulary.
• Searches only the subject field.
• Yields a narrow, specialized search