Information Literacy Modules: Searching

 Searching

A. Determining Search Terms

1. Lists terms that may be useful for locating information on a topic.
2. Identifies and uses appropriate general or subject-specific sources to discover terminology related to an information need.
3. Finds sources that provide relevant subject field- and discipline-related terminology.
4. Uses relevant subject- and discipline-related terminology in the information research process.
5. Identifies alternate terminology, including synonyms, broader or narrower words and phrases that describe a topic.
6. Narrows or broadens questions and search terms to retrieve the appropriate quantity of information, using search techniques such as Boolean logic, limiting, and field searching.

B. Controlled Vocabulary

1. Explains what controlled vocabulary is and why it is used.
2. Identifies when and where controlled vocabulary is used in a bibliographic record, and then successfully searches for additional information using that vocabulary.

C. Using Limiters in Searching

1. Demonstrates when it is appropriate to search a particular field (e.g., title, author, subject).
2. Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of Boolean logic and constructs a search statement using Boolean operators.
3. Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of proximity searching and constructs a search statement using proximity operators.
4. Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of nesting and constructs a search using nested words or phrases.
5. Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of keyword searching and uses it appropriately and effectively.
6. Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of truncation and uses it appropriately and effectively.
7. Demonstrates how searches may be limited or expanded by modifying search terminology or logic.
8. Demonstrates an awareness of the fact that there may be separate interfaces for basic and advanced searching in retrieval systems
9. Describes search functionality common to most databases regardless of differences in the search interface (e.g., Boolean logic capability, field structure, keyword searching, relevancy ranking).

D. Evaluation of Search Outcomes

1. Determines if the quantity of citations retrieved is adequate, too extensive, or insufficient for the information need.
2. Assesses the relevance of information found by examining elements of the citation such as title, abstract, subject headings, source, and date of publication.
3. Determines when a single search strategy may not fit a topic precisely enough to retrieve sufficient relevant information.

E. Wrap Up and Review.

Examines footnotes and bibliographies from retrieved items to locate additional sources.