Strategies for Researching
Information Online
Department of Technology
Eastern Kentucky University
Outline
• Need for superior online search techniques
• Developing the ability to:
• Determine breath and depth of information needed
• Search for information in an organized and efficient manner
• Evaluate sources of information critically
• Reference and cite sources properly using standard formats
• Conclusions
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Sources of Information:
Anecdotal vs. Scientific
• Online information can be a mix of fact
and outright fiction.
• It might be dated, current or upcoming
• Identifying the:
• Key journals and authors in the field is
important
• Keywords related to the topic
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Searching for Information:
Surfing Vs Diving
• Instead of using ‘natural
language phrases’ in Internet
search engines
• Use online bibliographic
databases by identifying
‘keywords’
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Search Strategy:
Haphazard Vs Structured
• Using a ‘semi-natural language’
search engine (Google) normally
results in numerous hits – but not
all lead to the required information
• Structure for searching
• Methodical even if pace is slower
• Using article keywords
• Synonyms for keywords
• Technical information posted in list
servers and newsgroups
• Using the free Web – search
engines
• Accessing subscribed databases
– Science Direct
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Navigating the Online
EKU Libraries Databases
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Citing Articles
•
Citing sources in the text and listing sources properly is very important –
give the author(s) credit for their contributions
•
In technology the APA (American Psychological Association) format is
commonly used.
http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/apa.html
http://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henrichsenl/apa/APA01.html
http://www.citationmachine.net/index.php?callstyle=2&all
•
In the EKU online databases for automatically generating APA references
• After identifying articles click the ‘Add’ button next to the article to add it to a
virtual folder (which is above the list of articles)
• Click to open the folder
• Place a check mark in the articles for which APA references are needed
• Click ‘Save’ (you may choose print also)
• In the ‘Include when saving’ section, under ‘Citation Format’ change to APA
• Click the ‘Save’ button
• The references will be listed on the web page under the title ‘reference list’ and
can also be printed.
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Using Google … if you must
• Order of words important - 1st word most important, 10 words max
• Search based on how many and which pages have intentionally
added links pointing to another web page.
• Default connective is ‘and’. For other use parenthesis, as in: dog
(cat or mouse)
• Searching scholarly literature http://scholar.google.com
• Acts as a calculator: 2+2 in search area
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Reviewing Articles
• ‘Full-text’ document may not be the best source of
information – often information has to be requested from
outside sources using inter-library loans
• Bibliographic references given at the end of most articles
can and should then be used as sources of further
information - especially those articles which you find useful.
• Search for the article(s) whose reference is provided in the
1st article and continue expanding your ‘search net’
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Top 10 Ways for
Using Google Effectively
10. Local area search: http://local.google.com, by zip, area code
9. Restrict to sites, as in nemo site: gov
8. Definitions of words using define: word, as in define: googol
7. Exclude words from search using ‘-’ and include using ‘+’,
as in: Disney –pixar
6. Drop common words (to, the, etc.) in search text, unless
wanted explicitly
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Top 10 Ways for
Using Google Effectively
5. Localize by type of file, as in “phrase” filetype:pdf
4. Phrase the question as an answer – instead of “How many
awards did Finding Nemo win”, use “Nemo won * awards”
3. Use wildcards ‘*’ instead of words, as in “eastern * university”
2. For phrases use “search phrase”, as in “Finding Nemo”
1. For complex searches use “advanced search” – located beside the
initial search area
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Conclusions
• Reduce the guesswork while searching
for information online
• Find information in an organized and
efficient manner - migrate from ‘natural
language’ to ‘keyword’ driven searches
• Evaluate sources of information critically
• Cite the sources used while writing your
article using standard reference styles
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