Physics 3501
Search Strategies
&
Resource Selection
Phillip Fitzsimmons
Reference and Digitization Librarian
Al Harris Library
phillip.fitzsimmons@swosu.edu
Capstone Research Class
Your class Web page,
containing all of the
information presented in
this session, is available at
the link: Physics 3501.
Remember:
• Make sure you understand your assignment
completely. Plan ahead so that you satisfy all it
its requirements.
• Do preliminary research to make certain you
can find enough information on your topic to do
your assignment.
• Get most of the information for your
assignment through the Library Home Page.
Use Web sites mostly for getting ideas, not as
sources for your assignment.
• When in doubt ask your Professor.
Three Places for Resources:
Place
• Catalogs
Resources
Books
• Databases
Articles
• Internet
Web Pages
Search Technique Number One:
Keywords
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.
Keyword Phrases:
• Single concept, multiple words
• Some electronic resources require keyword
phrases be enclosed with punctuation
– Quotation marks – SWOSU Catalog
– Parentheses
Examples of Keyword Phrases:
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“Robot Technology”
“Trends in Robotics”
“Industrial Robots”
“Robotic Handicap Assistance”
Search Technique Number Two:
Basic Boolean
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!
Examples of Using Boolean Operators:
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Robots and Military
Robots and Engineering
Robots or Senses
Robots or Electronics
Robotics not Movies
Robots not Fiction
The Resources:
Resource I: Books
• Al Harris Library holds over 300,000
volumes. Use the library catalog to find print
and ebooks.
• We have more than 164,000 ebooks. They
are exactly like print books except they don’t
have to be checked out and can be read on
your computer. Many are about current
scientific topics.
• Books will provide information for the
scientific and social aspects of your topic.
Use keyword and Boolean strategies when
searching the catalog:
Click link to
Other library catalogs to get to
Open WorldCat:
Open WorldCat:
• Open WorldCat can be searched using
keywords to find out what books have been
written about your topic.
• If Al Harris does not own the book you need,
you can use Open WorldCat to request the
book from another library. This is called an
Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
Open WorldCat:
(Linked to the Library Home page.)
Source II: Databases
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Ebsco: Academic Search Complete
Ebsco: Computer & Applied Science
Ebsco: Military & Government Science
Ebsco: Business Source Complete
Science Citation Index
Web of Science or Web of Knowledge
Click Science & Math link to find appropriate Databases:
Search: “solution” in the database
Today’s Science
The Switchgrass Solution—Green Gold?
February 2008
Use keywords from the end of the article to do
searches in other databases.
Source III: Web sites
• Domain Names are the last letters at the end of web
addresses such as .org, .com, .edu, .gov., .mil.
• Including .edu, .gov, or .mil in your Web search will
improve the quality of your search results by
retrieving only educational, government, or military
Web sites.
Examples: Robotics site:gov,
Soft Robot site:edu, Robot sensors site:mil.
• Consider the following Domain Names: .edu —
education, .gov —government, .biz — business,
.eu — European country, .in – India, .cn – China.
• For a dictionary of Domain Names go to:
http://www.techdictionary.com/domainlist.html.
Source III: Web sites
•
1.
Google Site Search:
2.
Use keyword and Site search strategies for finding
credible information on the Web.
Always be aware of the bias of each site.
•
Government sites
1.
2.
Use USA.gov to find information in sites you do not
know about.
Use key phrases “technical report” or “special
report” in your search to get the information you
want.
usa.gov is the information clearinghouse for the entire Federal
Government. Use it to search all government Web sites simultaneously.
Government Web sites for your assignment:
• NASA-- http://www.nasa.gov/
• National Science Foundation-http://www.nsf.gov/
• Department of Energy-http://www.energy.gov
• Government Information Clearinghouse-http://www.usa.gov/
Tip for searching Government Web sites:
• Include the key phrase “technical
report” or “special report” to your
search. This will bring scienceoriented documents to the top of your
results and that are also brochure- and
book-length.
Click Instruction link to get to APA citation guide:
APA Citation Guides: Digital
• Citing Sources in APA Style : Al Harris Library (SWOSU)
http://campusguides.swosu.edu/apa
• OWL: Purdue Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/
Writing Center Spring 2015 hours
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Where: (Al Harris Library--B3)
Spring 2015 Hours
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The writing center will open for business on Monday, January 26.
To schedule an appointment
•
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email writingcenter@swosu.edu.
Call (580) 774-7083,
“like” the S.W.O.S.U. Writing Center on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter
(@swosuwrites) for the most up-to-date scheduling information. Please keep
in mind that these hours are subject to change depending on consultants’
schedules as the semester progresses.
Recap:
1. The assignment: Know your assignment and
cover all of its requirements.
2. Search strategies: Keywords/Boolean
3. Apply strategies to resources
4. Places of resources:
 Catalogs, for Books
 Databases, for Articles
 Web, for Web sites
5. Try to find three resources that you can use
before you leave.
6. Contact me or any of the other librarians for
future help.
Questions?
• Contact me:
– Phillip Fitzsimmons
– 744-3030
phillip.fitzsimmons@swosu.edu
Please evaluate this class at :
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MHXJ898