Information Skills for College

Beyond Google: Specialized Search Engines

ENG 112 Library Workshop 2

What will you learn about?

• Session I:

– Internet information sources

–Which are free sources

• Session II:

–Scholarly information sources

–Which are not free, library pays $$

clicking

random

easy

Critical

purposeful

depth

Recap of last workshop

Strategies researcher

1. Understand how search engines works

2. Use some advanced search strategies in Google and read URLs

3. Begin asking questions about what you read (*today)

4. Try a specialized, human built search engine (*today)

Read URLs for publishing motive

Popular Top-Level Domains (TLDs)

.com (a company, usually based in U.S.)

.edu (colleges and universities in U.S.)

.org (non-profits and charities, typically)

.gov (U.S. government)

.int (international orgs, United Nations)

.ca (Oh Canada!)

.eu (European Union organizations)

AND every country has its own domain (like .CA)

Going Deeper

*New* Strategy: Specialized Search

*New* Strategy: Questions

Compare two sources

Source 1: [type name of article]

Source 2: [type name of article]

i. Compare the two, using the worksheet to do so.

ii. Skim read: What characteristics would compare them along?

iii. After comparing, would you use either source in your paper?

iv. Why (or why not) and how? Discuss with your group.

Always ask these questions

1. Who is the author or creator? (credibility)

2. What do you know about the author/creator? (credibility)

3. Who is publishing or sponsoring the site? (credibility)

4. What is the information itself like? (accuracy/depth)

5. When was the information published? (currency)

Criteria for “Scholarly”

Characteristic Article 1 Article 2

Criteria for “Scholarly”

Characteristic Scholarly(e.g. Journal of Modern Literature, English Literature in Transition)

Popular(e.g. New York Times, Newsweek, Nat’l Geographic)

Purpose Informs, shares original research

Entertains, may also inform

Audience Students, researchers, and others academics

General public, those without specialized knowledge

Author Researchers and other experts in the field

Often written by reporters of other paid staff writers

Length More in-depth, more details and evidence

Usually short, provides summary

References Tells you where the information came from

Doesn’t usually share information sources

Review Process Peer reviewed; only articles of superior quality published

Editor reviews it, but not a panel of experts

What’s Popular andWho are These Scholars?

How to Search for Articles

What’s the difference between (1) and (2)?1) Good to use when you are getting started on your research. It gives access to ~70% of our articles (but can be tricky to use at times).

2) Requires a few extra steps in that you need to go to a different page and choose from a list of options. CQ Researcher which is great for freshmen won’t appear in the search results of 1). You’ll also get access to CQ Researcher & the other 30% of articles.

1) Library Home Page> Search Everything and Beyond

2) Library Home Page > Research Section > eResources

Search under “Articles” section Choose a search engine (aka database) under “Go More In-Depth

eResources Recommendations

Find popular & scholarly articles:

Academic Search Premier

ProQuest Research Library

CQ Researcher

Opposing Viewpoints

For help with research ask your information coaches – Marymount librarians!

Walk-in Help: all the hours we are openE-mail: library@marymountcalifornia.eduPhone: 310-303-7260Text: (424) 241-2489