Competency 3. 
Formulate and efficiently execute search queries appropriate for the information resource.

3.1 Understand that different information sources and formats require different searching techniques, including browsing.
3.2 Select the search strategies appropriate to the topic and resource.
3.3 Understand that various resources may use different controlled vocabularies to refer to the same topic.
3.4 Use search language appropriate to the source, such as a controlled vocabulary, key words, natural language, author and title searches to locate relevant items in print and electronic resources.
3.5 Use online search techniques and tools (e.g., Boolean operators and symbols, limiters, and truncation) to locate relevant citations and to further refine the search.

Best Practice Examples

• Conducting Research for an Exploratory Essay (O'Keeffe)
• Job Hunting on the Internet HTML Slide Show (Lazewski)
• Online Searching: Principles and Specifics (Smith)
• Journal Database Searching Exercise Using Advanced Techniques (Herrling)
• Building a Research Question - Guide (Kincaid)
• Relating Boolean Operators to the student's experiences (Ganyard)
• Give Students the Brush (Pope)
• Writing Headlines (Markgraf)
• Creating & Applying a Company Profile (Schmidt)
• Using GenderWatch (Weisbard)
• Finding Articles from Contemporary Women's Issues Database within Lexis Nexis
• Using a Metasite (Weisbard)

 

[Back to Best Practice Examples]    [Info Lit Committee Home]