Information Literacy
Search Strategies & Catalog
Session I Basics
Frederic Murray
Assistant Professor
MLIS, University of British Columbia
BA, Political Science, University of Iowa
Instructional Services Librarian
Al Harris Library
frederic.murray@swosu.edu
Your SWOSU Student Outlook
Password is your Library Login
DID YOU KNOW
What is the internet?
Can the internet
answer our questions?
Fundamental Questions
• Who am I?
• What am I doing here?
• Where am I going?
DIKW
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Data
Information
Knowledge
Wisdom
D
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Terms of Understanding
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Data comes about through research, creation, gathering, and discovery.
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Information has context. Data is turned into information by organizing it so
that we can easily draw conclusions. Data is also turned into information by
"presenting" it, such as making it visual or auditory.
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Knowledge has the complexity of experience, which come about by seeing it
from different perspectives. This is why training and education is difficult - one
cannot count on one person's knowledge transferring to another. Knowledge is
built from scratch by the learner through experience. Information is static, but
knowledge is dynamic as it lives within us.
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Wisdom is the ultimate level of understanding. As with knowledge, wisdom
operates within us. We can share our experiences that create the building
blocks for wisdom, however, it needs to be communicated with even more
understanding of the personal contexts of our audience than with knowledge
sharing.
Cleveland H. "Information as Resource", The Futurist, December 1982 p. 34-39
How Satellite Photos Will
Change Economics
• The earth is quickly being encircled by
hundreds of tiny satellites
photographing economic activity
Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom
Planet Labs
• San Francisco startup run
by former NASA
engineers
• Largest imaging fleets
aloft
• Orbiting Earth every 90
minutes
Spaceknow
• San Francisco startup
• Developing software to
transform all these
images into datasets
• Track the worlds, trucks,
ships, mines,
warehouses.
• DATA
• INFORMATION
Orbital Insight
• Founder worked on Mars Rovers
• Create a “macroscope” to track
national & global trends
• Create global poverty map
• Predict illegal deforestation
• Market intelligence for decision makers
& investors
KNOWLEDGE/WISDOM
FRACKING
List sources of information…
Libraries
• Common Sources of Information
– Books
– Newspapers
– Journal Articles
– Letters
– Catalogs/Databases/Search Engines
21st Century
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Video Podcasts
Audio Podcast
Wikis
Blog (Weblog) and Video Blog Post
Forum or Discussion Board Posting
E-mail
Computer Software/Downloaded
Software
Nonperiodical Web Document or
Report
Online Lecture Notes and
Presentation Slides
Qualitative Data and Online
Interviews
Graphic Data (e.g. Interactive Maps
and Other Graphic Representations
of Data)
Data Sets
Bibliographies
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Annotated Bibliographies
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Dissertation/Thesis from a
Database
Book Reviews
Chapter/Section of a Web
Document or Online Book Chapter
Kindle Books
Electronic Books
Newspaper Article
Abstract
Article from a Database
Article From an Online Periodical
with no DOI Assigned
Article From an Online Periodical
with DOI Assigned
Online Scholarly Journal Article:
Citing DOIs
Article From an Online Periodical
21st Century
Catalogs, Databases, & Search Engines
• A comprehensive list of the books, periodicals, maps,
and other materials in a given collection.
• A large, regularly updated file of digitized information
related to a specific subject or field.
• Computer software designed to help the user locate
information available at sites on the World Wide Web
by selecting categories from a hierarchical directory of
subjects (example: Yahoo!) or by entering
appropriate keywords or phrases (Google).
Identifying Keywords
• Identify the significant terms and
concepts that describe your topic from
your thesis statement or research
question.
• These terms will become the key for
searching catalogs, databases and
search engines for information about
your subject.
Thesis Statement
Advances in digital communication
have made online social networks an
integral part of daily life.
Thesis Statement
Advances in digital communication
have made online social networks an
integral part of daily life.
Communication and Online and Social
Boolean
• AND = Narrow
• OR = Expand
• NOT = Exclude
Boolean Operators
• Connect keywords only
• Must be placed between keywords
• AND
– Narrows your search
• OR
– Expands your search with synonymous terms
• NOT
– Excludes words from your search
– If used too much, it can work against you!
Culture of the Book
Culture of the Book
• Extends the field of rationality
• Encourages skepticism
• Develops logical thinking
E-Books: Ebrary/ eBooks
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24/7
Chapter Results*
Highlight Markup
Note Taking
Online Bookshelf
Subject Hyperlinks*
• Multiplicity of Use
E-Books: Ebrary/ eBooks
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24/7
Chapter Results*
Highlight Markup
Note Taking
Online Bookshelf
Subject Hyperlinks*
• Multiplicity of Use
Library Books
Library Books: Catalog
• Use Limiters to focus search
– 2nd floor
– Last 5 years
– Videos
Dewey
• All of human
knowledge is
broken into Ten
Major Categories
Class Exercise
• Using Keywords & Boolean create a
search string on the assigned topic
• Search the Catalog
• Limit Results to 2nd floor
• Using Dewey Call # locate book and
bring back to class.
Class Exercise
• Locate an Ebrary book on the
environmental aspects of fracking
– Create an MLA Citation & Record on
Worksheet
• Locate a chapter result on this topic
– Create an MLA Citation & Record on
Worksheet
Don't read to believe, read to question.
Read. Read. Read. Just don't read one type of book. Read different
books by various authors so that you develop different styles.
- R. L. Stine
The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our
neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes
the property of all.
- Voltaire
You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to
stop reading them.
- Ray Bradbury
Questions?
• Contact me:
– Frederic Murray
• 774-7113
• frederic.murray@swosu.edu
Thanks!