WSU LIBS 1504 Chapter 3: Beginning Your Research
True; Truncation only picks up word endings, not synonyms.
True or False: Truncation only picks up word ENDINGS, not synonyms.
the AND boolean operator
Which boolean operator narrows your search, giving you fewer results?
AND Boolean Operator
Connects all of the main concepts together, and tells the computer you want ALL of the words in your search result.
Search Techniques
Methods you use to search for information on your topic, and allow you to turn your research question or thesis statement into a search statement.
Review of Literature
Process of positioning one's ideas within the larger conversation on a topic.
Natural Language Query
Putting things into the search box in your own words,without any special symbols or format.
OR Boolean Operator
Tells the database to find any of the terms where each word may appear separately, as well as where any terms may appear together. *You must use parentheses around OR terms.*
Keywords
The main ideas in your research question or thesis statement. *The words that you will use to search for information on your topic.
Scholarly Communication
The system through which research and other scholarly writings are created, evaluated for quality, disseminated to the scholarly community, and preserved for future use.
True; Most college-level research papers will have either a research question or thesis statement. Both identify the issue you will be writing about; one is phrased as a question and the other is phrased as a statement.
True or False: Most college-level research papers will have either a research question or thesis statement.
True; By using quotation marks around the phrase, you are telling the computer to only bring back results containing the exact terms you entered, in the exact order as you typed them.
True or False: When you use a phrase in a search statement, you will use quotation marks around the phrase.
It does not work well (or at all) in most of the library's subscription databases
What is one caveat to natural language query?
NOT boolean operator. It is less commonly used because it inadvertently eliminate useful sources from a search's result.
What is one of the less common boolean operators? Why is it not generally used?
An asterisk. However, different databases uses different truncation symbols so always use the database help screens to determine which symbols are appropriate.
What is the most common truncation symbol?
Investigate the context of the topic you are researching to better situate your research within the larger conversation, and to support your conclusions.
What is the purpose of a literature review?
Keywords and synonyms, truncation, phrase searching, and Boolean operators (aka: all of the search techniques talked about in this chapter).
What search techniques to you combine to create a search statement?
Search Statements
What you type into a search box to find information on your topic.
Phrase
When an idea will include more than one word to describe a concept.
Truncation
When you ____ a word, you chop off the end, so the search tool can search for multiple endings.
When searching for information, where you look will depend partly on when it happened. WHEN DID IT HAPPEN WHERE SHOULD YOU LOOK Today --------------- TV, Radio, Internet (electronic media) Yesterday/earlier in week --- Newspapers and electronic media A week or more ------------- Popular magazines A month or more ------------ Popular magazines Six months or more --------- Scholarly Journals A year or more -------------- Scholarly Journals and books Decade/centuries ago ---- Scholarly Journals, books, encyclopedia
Where do you go to find out about the scholarly conversation in progress about a topic?
the OR boolean operator
Which boolean operator broadens your search, giving you more results?
Is it's too broad, you'll be overwhelmed. If the topic is too narrow, you will have a hard time finding enough information and not have enough issues to develop effectively.
Why is it important to focus on a topic?
