Evaluating Information; Subject Searches in Gale PowerSearch
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Ms. Doyle, District Librarian
description
For Informative Speech (ACS)
Transcript of Evaluating Information; Subject Searches in Gale PowerSearch
Ms. Doyle, District Librarian
Image Attibution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/will-lion/2595497078/sizes/z/in/photostream/
What do you think of these sites?Thumbs up, down or sideways:
Wikipedia CNN
Yahoo Answers Gale PowerSearch
The New York Times Printed book
The World Book Personal websiteEncyclopedia
Image Attribution: http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/in_popular_culture.png
When should you use Wikipedia?
Thumbs up or thumbs down:
5.To get a quick overview of your research topic?
7.As the main source of information for your research paper?
9.When reading about a pop culture topic of personal interest?
11.When making an important decision about your health?
13.To see what sources the article’s author’s used?
•Evaluate information -- don’t believe everything you read
•Who publishes the site? .gov, .edu, .com? Who wrote it and what makes them an expert?
•Compare multiple sources
•Always cite your sources (OSLIS Citation Maker, Easybib.com, etc.)
Image Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeeperez/2453225588/
Take about 2 minutes to write in your journal, responding to these questions:
1. What websites do you consider reliable? List at least 2 in your journal.
2. What websites do you think might be unreliable? List at least 2 in your journal.
3. How do you tell the difference? Write at least 2 sentences in your journal.
Share your thoughts with the class!
• Start on your school home page• Click “Library” to find District Library
Catalog -- WebCat
Journal Entry #4: Finding a book
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Newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, images, reference books, primary sources and more
School pays for access – has information you just can’t get free on the web
Edited/fact checked (peer reviewed), so often more reliable than websites
5. Get bookmark from library with home-access passwords (or find on Library Home Page)
Use your library card to access public library research tools
Use a Database
6. How to Find the Databases
A. Go to your school’s website
B. Hover over Library in the menu, then choose Online Research Tools or Library Home Page
You can also find link to database passwords on Library Home Page (must log in to Edline)
7. Which database do you think would best fit your topic? Pick one and write it here.
A. In keyword searching, you use any words that come to mind. The computer finds them anywhere in the article.
B. In subject searching, you use the exact words that the catalogers use. The computer finds these phrases only in the subject field.
9. Think about your research topic. Brainstorm at least 6 keywords you could use in your search. Write the keywords in your journal.
Catalogers used controlled vocabulary – the same words or phrases to describe the same topic every time.
We need to find the Subject Headings for our topic. In Gale PowerSearch, they appear below the search box if you are on the right track. Image attribution:
http://mindhacks.org/files/2011/03/brain-waves.jpg
Let’s try a keyword search – for example, Korean and immigration
Notice Content Types:
Related Subjects: These are the subject headings!
Document Types:
Using the Advanced Search option lets you decide EXACTLY what you want.
Use one of your subject headings,
the term AND , and then your other subject
heading
#1. I use OR to search two or more subject headings
“Korean Americans” OR “Emigration and immigration”
#2. I use AND to search two or more subject headings
“Korean Americans” AND “Emigration and immigration”
Which one will give me results that are more relevant to my topic?
Hold up 1 finger for example #1., 2 fingers for # 2.
Subject Headings
Using OR produces more results, but they are less relevant
Using AND produces fewer results, but they should be more relevant
10. Subject Headings
Why limit to edited and peer-reviewed sources?
Peer Review: “. . .[S]cholars in the author's field or specialty critically assess a draft of the article. Peer-reviewed journals (also called refereed journals) are scholarly journals that only publish articles that have passed through this review process.”
-- Cal Poly Library Services Research Guide
11. Peer-Reviewed Sources
A. Notice that you can generate citations for database articles for your Works Cited list
B. Email the article to yourself – EMAIL
12. Database Tools
Go to secondary.oslis.org Choose Gale PowerSearch Do a keyword search first Find your subject headings, then use
Advanced Search Use AND to search both subjects at
once
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Email me at [email protected] for help
Or come by the library on Monday (LOHS) or Tuesday (Lakeridge) – usually!
