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Information Search Techniques - Week 10

This document outlines techniques for effective information searching, including planning searches, refining searches, and using Boolean logic. It discusses planning a search by analyzing topics, identifying keywords, and determining information needs. Methods are provided for refining searches by broadening or narrowing keywords. Boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT are explained to focus searches by specifying logical relationships between keywords. The goal is to efficiently find the most relevant information through an iterative search process.

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Sylvester Wasonga
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44 views7 pages

Information Search Techniques - Week 10

This document outlines techniques for effective information searching, including planning searches, refining searches, and using Boolean logic. It discusses planning a search by analyzing topics, identifying keywords, and determining information needs. Methods are provided for refining searches by broadening or narrowing keywords. Boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT are explained to focus searches by specifying logical relationships between keywords. The goal is to efficiently find the most relevant information through an iterative search process.

Uploaded by

Sylvester Wasonga
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LECTURE SESSION 10

INFORMATION SEARCH TECHNIQUES


Lecture Outline
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Learning outcomes
10.3 Planning your search
10.4 Refining your search
10.5 Boolean Search
10.6 Summary
10.7 Review Activity
10.8 References and Further Reading

10.1 Introduction
As you search for information from online databases, you will notice that there is plenty
of information most of which might be irrelevant. So how do you ensure that as you
search, you only get what you need? You need to apply some information search
techniques. In this lecture, you will learn the techniques of searching for information.

10.2 Learning Outcomes


At the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
1. Plan for their search for information
2. Refine a search
3. Apply Boolean Search Operators during searching.

10.3 Planning your Search


Planning your search is the first step to effective information searching.

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A search plan makes you think about what exactly you are looking for and where you
can find it. It helps you to search methodically and efficiently, and to find the best and
most relevant information that would suit your purpose. Information searching is an
iterative process where you repeat and refine your searching until you get the best
results. In this session, we shall look at the techniques of searching e.g. using Boolean
logic and other operators and search aids.

The following steps should be followed when planning a search:


Step 1
You first analyze your research topic and try to identify directive words that tell you
what to do e.g. “discuss”, “compare”, “describe”.
Step 2
Look for constraints, i.e. words that limit the scope of your assignment e.g. “during the
Covid-19 period”, “in Kenya”.
Step 3
Determine the concepts e.g. the aspects that describe the subject of your assignment.
Step 4
Formulate your search queries. Think about the keywords you will use. Consider
possible synonyms, alternative spellings, plurals and other endings.
Step 5
Determine what type of information you need (background information; general
overview of the subject, detailed research results etc.), and where you could possibly
find that type of information.
Do you need a simple answer from one site or a range of material from several different
sites?

Ask yourself if you need to consult a scholarly journal or just a popular magazine.
A scholarly journal is generally one that is published by and for experts. In order to
be published in a scholarly journal, an article must first go through the peer review

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process in which a group of widely acknowledged experts in a field reviews it for
content, scholarly soundness and academic value. In most cases, articles in scholarly
journals present new, previously unpublished research. Scholarly sources will
almost always include:
• Bibliography and footnotes
• Author's name and academic credentials
As a general rule, scholarly journals are not printed on glossy paper, do not contain
advertisements for popular consumer items and do not have colorful graphics and
illustrations (there are, of course, exceptions).

Popular magazines range from highly respected publications such as Parents, Vogue,
Readers Digest to general interest newsmagazines like Newsweek The Time, Economist.
Articles in these publications tend to be written by staff writers or freelance
journalists and are geared towards a general audience. Articles in popular
magazines are more likely to be shorter than those in academic journals. While most
magazines adhere to editorial standards, articles do not go through a peer review
process and rarely contain bibliographic citations.
Is the Internet the right place to look for the information you need? Often online
electronic resources be more useful, but these are seldom available free. Most
learning institutions nowadays subscribe to e-resources.

10.4. Refining a Search


If you have too many hits:
• Add other terms or concepts (see Boolean Searching)
• Search a narrower concept (For example if you started with the term
'education', try 'special education' )
• Use a combination subject directory and search engine (like Yahoo) where
your keyword search is limited to sites in a particular subject area.
If you have too few hits:

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• Try using a broader term or concept
• Broaden the search by linking or using synonyms
• Check your spelling
• Check the help or search tips pages at a Search Engine site
• Think about who would have made the sort of information you want
available on the Internet; not all information you want is available.
• Ask your Librarian for help.

10.5 Boolean Searching


Using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) will help to focus and define your
search by specifying the logical relationship among your keywords and terms.
They can help broaden (increase) and narrow (decrease) search results.

Boolean searching is an important skill to learn; you'll need these operators to


effectively search the library catalogue, electronic databases and the Internet.

AND narrows a search because ALL TERMS must be present in each hit.
If you enter the following search:
Education AND Kenya
Each hit should contain both the word 'education' and the word 'Kenya'
Adding 'Kenya' to 'education' is a good strategy to use when you only need to
limit your search to information about education in Kenya. Education is such a
broad subject that a search with just 'education' as the search word it is likely to
result in hundreds of hits, most of which will be irrelevant if you are only
looking for Kenya related information.

OR widens a search because each hit will contain either 'education' or it will
contain 'Kenya'. These terms may or may not appear in the same record. If you
enter the following search:

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Education OR Kenya all the records containing the word 'education' will be
retrieved, as well as all the records containing the term 'Kenya'

The best way to use OR is when you want to make sure that you cover
synonyms. Have a look at the following two examples:
education OR teaching OR schooling
bike OR cycle OR bicycle
NOT narrows a search by excluding records containing specified words. If you
enter the following search:
Education NOT Kenya
The word 'education' must be present in the records retrieved, but the word
‘Kenya' must not be present. Use the NOT operator judiciously as you may
exclude relevant records inadvertently. (Some search engines use AND NOT).

Take Note
Apart from the Boolean Operators, there are other operators
you can use. However, their usage depends on the system you
are using.
NEAR tells the search engine to find records with specified
words near to each other.
Phrase searching tells the search engine to find a phrase
rather than separate words. Some search engines (e.g.
ANZWERS and HOTBOT) allow you to perform this type
of search by selecting from a drop down menu. Others
require you to put the phrase in brackets. Sometimes the
phrase will need to be inserted inside quotation marks.
Check the help page of each search engine you use for

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specific information.
Truncation is used to retrieve variations in word endings.
For example: If you enter the word 'teach' your results
might include records with the words 'teach', 'teacher',
'teaching'. Different search engines and databases will use
different characters to indicate truncation. TUM Library
Catalogue uses a * (e.g. teach*)
Other common truncation symbols include ? or $ or + Other
search engines allow you to select truncation as an option.

Activity
Open Emerald database (www.emerald.com) and use Boolean
Operators to search for documents on the impact of coronavirus
on education in Kenya. How many results do you get?

How would you apply the skills you have learnt in this lecture to
search for relevant information from online databases?

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10.6 Summary
In this session, we have learnt about the importance of
planning a search. We also looked at the steps you would
follow in order to plan for an effective search. Further, we
looked at the Boolean operators and how to use them
during a search.

10.7 Review Activity


1. Explain the steps you would take as you plan for your
search.
2. How do you refine a search?
10.7 References and Further Reading
1. Ridley, D. D. (2009). Information retrieval : Searching in the
21st century. ProQuest Ebook
Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
2. Alewine, M. C., & Canada, M. (2017). Introduction to information
literacy for students. ProQuest Ebook
Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

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