Searching
A. Determining Search Terms
- Lists terms that may be useful for locating information on a topic.
- Identifies and uses appropriate general or subject-specific sources to discover terminology related to an information need.
- Finds sources that provide relevant subject field- and discipline-related terminology.
- Uses relevant subject- and discipline-related terminology in the information research process.
- Identifies alternate terminology, including synonyms, broader or narrower words and phrases that describe a topic.
- 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
- Explains what controlled vocabulary is and why it is used.
- 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
- Demonstrates when it is appropriate to search a particular field (e.g., title, author, subject).
- Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of Boolean logic and constructs a search statement using Boolean operators.
- Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of proximity searching and constructs a search statement using proximity operators.
- Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of nesting and constructs a search using nested words or phrases.
- Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of keyword searching and uses it appropriately and effectively.
- Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of truncation and uses it appropriately and effectively.
- Demonstrates how searches may be limited or expanded by modifying search terminology or logic.
- Demonstrates an awareness of the fact that there may be separate interfaces for basic and advanced searching in retrieval systems
- 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
- Determines if the quantity of citations retrieved is adequate, too extensive, or insufficient for the information need.
- Assesses the relevance of information found by examining elements of the citation such as title, abstract, subject headings, source, and date of publication.
- 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.
