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Research Skills
Carole Dean
© Central Institute of Technology 2010
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Learning Outcomes…





To become familiar with the steps in the
research process
To be aware of the sources of information
available for research purposes
To be able to locate relevant information
To be able to search effectively using
electronic resources
To be aware of the importance of evaluating
information found
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The Search Strategy Cycle
1
Understand
the question
or topic
2
Identify main
concepts/
keywords
3
Locate and
evaluate
information
Research
Strategy
Cycle
4
Organise the
information
6
Present the
assignment
5
Reference the
assignment
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Translate the topic into keywords
nutrition
influence
eating habits
effect
“Explain how diet might impact on an
athlete’s performance”
Sports person
competitor
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results
achievements
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and,
Describe the types of health hazards found in
workplaces
Concept 1
Concept 2
Concept 3
health
hazards
workplaces
or
safety
or
well-being
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or
risks
or
dangers
or
industry
or
laboratories
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Sources of Information

Textbooks, Learning Guides, Handouts…

Library / Library Online

Online Databases

World Wide Web

Other Sources – organizations, interviews,
pamphlets
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Using the Library…




Reference collection
• Dictionaries, thesaurus, encyclopaedias
General collection
• Books – journals – DVD/videos – CD’s
Newspapers
• For up-to-date information, opinions and public
perceptions
Database / Internet access
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What are Databases Online?
Electronic collections of information - journals, newspapers,
trade publications – usually arranged by subject or type, which
are available through a computer:
• ….. can be subject specific i.e. PubMed, or
general i.e. EBSCOhost
• ….. are a quick method of searching journal collections.
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Are they the same as the Web?
WEBSITES




More information to search
Hard to search for specific
items
Information may be out of
date
Information may be
unreliable
ONLINE DATABASES

Limited amount of
information to search

Specific search limit

Current information

Reliable information


© Central Institute of Technology 2010
Prepared by subject
specialist or editor
Usually require a
subscription
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Library Online
Assignment Help
Internet Searching
Find Resources By Topic
Online Databases
Online Catalogue
Online Information Literacy
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Searching the Web
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
The “address” of the document on the web
Every document on the World Wide Web must
have one.
They look like:
http://www.central.wa.edu.au
(look out for a ~ or % before a personal name)
www.windspeed.net.au/~jenny/seadragons
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Icebergs….
ask
Alltheweb
yahoo
bing
•No two search engines retrieve
the same results
•Each one searches a different
part of the Web
•Each is updated at different times
D
E
E
P
•Each search engine uses
different criteria to organise
search results
(LSU 2010)
W
E
B
Copied under Part VB from: Iceberg , 2010 [image], Retrieved: July 21, 2010
from http://express.howstuffworks.com/wq-iceberg.htm
(Iceberg 2010)
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LSU, 2010, Search engines, Retrieved: March 5 from
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/general/internet_search.html
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Search Tools
Search Engines
www.google.com
Meta Indexes
www.dogpile.com
Search engine collections
www.search-22.com
A collection of individual and
general search engines plus
Reference resources.
Internet Directories
www.ipl.org
Search Engine Information:
www.lib.lsu.edu/general/internet_search.html
www.thesearchenginelist.com
www.nsi.tafensw.edu.au/libraries/search_engines.htm#top
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Engines
General




www.altavista.com
www.alltheweb.com
www.yahoo.com
www.ask.com
Specific


www.scirus.com (searches over
370 m science-specific Web pages)
http://scholar.google.com
And , http://findarticles.com –
a website
which provides access to articles previously published in
over 3,000 magazines, journals, and other sources
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Directories
General
www.dmoz.org
 http://vlib.org
 http://infomine.ucr.edu
 http://bubl.ac.uk
Scholarly internet resource collections!

Specific


www.intute.ac.uk (social science)
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/Hardin/md/in
dex.html (medical pics)
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Search tips…
Boolean commands - and, or, not,
AND - Only those documents that includes the 2 words
hazards AND work
OR – Gives documents that include both terms
diet OR nutrition OR “eating habits”
NOT – Will exclude a search term.
“heart attack” -angina / jaguar -car
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Search Tips….



Quotation marks
“……… …..”
+ in front of a word ensure that word is included
Star Wars +1
Synonym searching
~ in front of a word finds synonyms
~inexpensive = cheap, affordable, low cost
~run = runners, running, marathon
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Search Tips cont…
Field Searching
Title
intitle: e.g.
Domain
inurl:
e.g.
intitle:asthma
inurl:.edu.au
Together
intitle:asthma inurl:.gov.au
Web Search Tips in Plain English
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8aYoVpdz8o
and, www.googleguide.com - cheat sheet
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Other useful search tips…
Use the advanced search button
define: before a term to provide a definition
Safesearch: to avoid inappropriate sites
Copyright friendly images:
Advanced Search and www.creativecommons.org
Google Images –
Use what’s already found: Uni Subject Guides; health e
resources; health resources; Wikipedia references…
I’m Feeling Lucky (libraries and the enhancement of e-learning; rac)
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Time to practice….
Central’s Library catalogue:
 Find all my words – obesity
 Mt Lawley only
 Find… Seven deadly sins of obesity
 Look in the Full Record
 Write down 2 of the deadly sins…
Proquest Database:
 Keywords - children obesity advertising
 
full text documents….search
 Find – Television food advertising to children: a global perspective
 What is the Journal title and Date?
 Read the Search Tips to improve your searching
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What if the resources I need are not in
the Library?
You can also borrow from:
•
•
All other Training WA Libraries
Edith Cowan, Murdoch and Notre Dame University
Libraries
Become a Community Member and/or do further research at:
• State Reference and Public Libraries
• Other University Libraries
(Curtin $70.40 and UWA $82.50 for 6 months; inc.
database access)
• Workplaces
And use University library subject / help pages…
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Evaluating
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Examining, selecting and rejecting resources
Ask yourself these questions…
Is
Is
Is
Is
Is
Is
the information
the information
the information
the information
the information
it what I need?
correct?
relevant?
reliable / valid? Author?
up to date?
free from bias? Persuasion?
CAPOW = Currency, Authority, Purpose, Objectivity,
Writing Style
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylp9nJpGak4 (Researching Online
5 easy steps)
CRAP = Currency, Reliability, Authority, Point-of-View
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jch3JNJ8lco
© Central Institute of Technology 2010
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Need further assistance?
Ask a librarian
Refer to “Library Services for Students”
Check the Library website at
www.central.wa.edu.au
Email the Library on
helplibrary@central.wa.edu.au
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Copyright Regulations 1969
WARNING
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