7 Vietnam: Lessons

AND

• will find the words together to narrow your results
• tells the database that ALL search terms must be included in the results
• example: cloning AND humans AND ethics => a result about all three topics

OR

• connects two or more similar concepts 
• broadens your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records
• example: cloning OR genetics OR reproduction => Results can have 1, 2, or all of the words

NOT

• excludes words you have identified as not helpful 
• example: cloning NOT sheep => Gives results the limit a word, in this case "Sheep" should not appear

The Question Formulation Technique (QFT) is a routine that helps you think of questions and choose the best ones for research.

Follow these rules exactly:

• Number your questions
• Write down all questions without comment or judgement
• Review the questions and if any are statements, change them into questions
• Identify each question as either "open" or "closed" (yes/no/single fact vs. explanation)
• Change each question into its opposite (Open questions become closed, and Closed questions become open)
• Prioritize your questions with #1 being the one you feel is most important

   How to Search!

Identify Key Words

• Write out questions
• Circle necessary words
• Anticipate words in the answer
• Use synonyms (words that have the same meaning) to get more results

Use Boolean Operators to narrow or broaden your search

• OR gives more results
• AND gives fewer results
• NOT cuts out specific words or phrases

Use quotation marks to keep exact phrases together

• Example: "Florida Marlins" will give results about the baseball team, not the fish or the US state

Build a search string with Boolify - a puzzle-style google search!

• Practice various search strategies & build "Search Strings" with Boolify.
• Drag limiters onto the board, add a search term, and click anywhere on the board.
• Watch the Keyboard Shortcuts results space below to see the codes Google uses to command its search engine to do what YOU want.

The CRAAP test is a way to begin evaluating a source. 

C = Currency (when was the information produced?)

R = Relevance (is it what you need and at your level of understanding?)

A = Authority (who put the information out and are they expert in the topic?)

A = Accuracy (is the information correct? you might need to double check)

P = Purpose (why did someone create this?)

To FULLY evaluate a source, you may need to CHECK parts of it by finding out more about who is behind the information and checking the facts. This is called "Lateral Reading" - meaning reading ACROSS the internet to find out more about the source you are looking at.

Open slides in a new window

Noodletools Video Lesson

• Open Noodletools
• Open the slides above
• Watch the video HERE