Searching & Evaluating
Resources
Rhetoric 1302
Hillary Campbell
WWW vs. Periodical
Databases
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WWW
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Contains text,
graphics, sound, and
video
Anyone can publish
pages on the Web.
Numerous hits with
many duplicates
Unregulated source
of information
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Periodical Databases
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Access to very
specific information
Relatively high
degree of authority
on the information
found within
No duplicates
Searching the Web
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Government information/Web sites
Associations & organizations
Commercial sites
Current news (limited)
“Specialty” sites
Searching Periodical
Databases
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Greater concern for authoritative
sources
More powerful “advanced” searching
Need to research articles
Need newspaper archives/backfiles
Developing a Search Strategy
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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.

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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.
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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
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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

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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

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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*
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minority
minorities
Wom?n
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women
woman
womyn
“incarceration rate*”
AND minorit*
OR
Crim* AND wom?n
Evaluating Sources (ABC’s)
Audience
 Authority
 Bias
 Currency
 Scope

Audience
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What age group/education
level/political affiliation/etc. is the
audience?
Is this for a person with in-depth
knowledge or a layperson?
Authority
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Does the author’s name appear on the
Web page?
What are his/her credentials?
Does the author provide contact
information?
Bias
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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
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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
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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

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Use Search Engine Watch or Search
Engine Showdown to find and compare.
Choose only 2 or 3 search engines and
learn them well.

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Use help screen/search tips to educate
yourself on advanced options.
Familiarize yourself with the advanced
search, if available.
Selecting Your Database(s)
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Choose by subject
http://www.utdallas.edu/library/reference/subjectdata.html
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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