Critical thinking

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Learning Outcomes

· Characterize the similarities and differences between public and academic libraries.

· Discuss several advantages and challenges of using a digital library.

· Compare and contrast three systems for digitally accessing information.

Module 2

Locating and Accessing Information

Ibrakovic/iStock/Thinkstock

· Determine what type of search is required based on an information need.

· Explore different methods for gathering and collecting information.

Introduction

In Module 1, you learned the five steps of the research process and were introduced to different types and formats of information. This module focuses on the second step in the research process: locating and accessing information within the library and on the Internet. The module concludes with an overview of different types of reading and note taking needed for gathering information.

In Module 1, we looked around and assessed the large amount of information that permeates our lives; that module also introduced the threshold concept searching as strategic exploration. In this module, you explore different methods for accessing information and researching that will place you on the path of conducting your own strategic exploration.

Carol Kuhlthau created the Information Search Process, which focuses on the six stages of research: task initiation, selection, exploration, focus formulation, collection, and presentation (see Figure 2.1). Notice that incorporated into this search process are the feelings (affective), thoughts (cognitive), and actions (physical) students experience as they move through the stages of the research process (Kuhlthau, 2013). At this point in your course, you are at the exploration phase of the information search process, which directly connects to the threshold concept searching as strategic exploration. Let’s do our own exploring and take a closer look at this connection.

Figure 2.1 Kuhlthau’s model of the information search process

Feelings

(

affective

)

Uncertainty

Optimism

Vague

Confusion

Frustration

Doubt

Clarity

Focused

Increased interest

Seeking pertinent information

Seeking relevant information

Exploring

Documenting

Sense of

direction/

confidence

Satisfaction or

Disappointment

Sense of

accomplishment

Increased

self-awareness

Initiation

Thoughts

(

cognitive

)

Actions

physical

)

(

Assessment

Selection

Exploration

Formulation

Collection

Presentation

Source: Kuhlthau, C. (2013). Rethinking the 2000 ACRL standards: Some things to consider. Communications in Information Literacy, 7(2), 92–99. Reprinted with permission from Libraries Unlimited.

When first starting a research project, you may feel a bit uncertain because you don’t know much about your topic or where to begin. As you move through the research process to the exploration phase, you may be a bit anxious and unsure of how to locate the best information to address your research question. At this stage, many students want to complete their research as quickly as possible, often cutting corners and shortening the length of time they spend locating quality sources. Their confusion at where to find the information they need and the frustration they feel attempting to access it usually result in students quickly giving up and skimping on the time they devote to the research process (Kuhlthau, 2013).

This is the point at which the threshold concept searching as strategic exploration comes in. Locating quality information requires a combination of investigation, discovery, and at times good luck. Since the research process is nonlinear and by nature repetitive, it requires the use of a wide range of information sources (books, journal articles, magazines, primary and secondary sources, and so on) and flexibility to pursue alternative paths as you gain new understanding of your topic (ACRL, 2015).

Students who are developing their abilities in the searching as strategic exploration threshold concept

· identify interested parties, such as scholars, organizations, governments, and industries, which might produce information about a topic and determine how to access that information.

· design and refine needs and search strategies, based on search results.

· understand how information systems (that is, collections of recorded information) are organized to access relevant information.

· use different searching language types (for example, subject headings, keywords, natural language).

· understand that first attempts at searching do not always produce adequate results.

· seek guidance from experts, such as librarians, researchers, and professionals.

· persist in the face of search challenges, and know when enough information completes the information task.

Remember, there is no one perfect resource that answers all aspects of your research question, so a strategic plan to locate a variety of resources is the key to conducting good research. This is where libraries and online sources come in! The remainder of this module will guide you through the ins and outs of how these tools work and provide tips for how to strategically explore and access information in the Library.

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Your Roadmap to Success: Section 2.1

Learning Outcome #1:

Characterize the similarities and differences between public and aca-

demic libraries.

Why is this important?

Mastering this outcome will help inform you of all the resources that libraries in your com-

munity have to offer you. Consider Vanessa, for example. After learning about the different

types of libraries, Vanessa realized that academic libraries would likely be the best place

to find sources for her research paper. But she also learned that the public library in her

neighborhood has some great resources too, such as free Wi-Fi and workshops for her kids!

How does this relate to your success in this course?

This section’s learning outcome is associated with the following course learning outcome:

Analyze the concept and value of information literacy for successful lifelong learning.

Mas-

tering this learning outcome is essential to your success as a student; it will increase your

chances of getting good grades and will increase your capacity to learn to your full potential

in your academic, personal, and professional lives.

2.1

What Types of Libraries

Are There?

Learning Outcome #2: Discuss several advantages and challenges of using a digital library.

Why is this important?

Mastering this outcome will help you determine when to use the services of a digital library and when to find information elsewhere. Consider Austin, for example. Austin learned the digital library would enable him to find most of the resources he needed without ever leaving his home. And he could get them during his prime studying hours—10 p.m. to midnight! He would, however, need to brush up on his browsing skills because browsing in a digital library can be trickier than in a traditional library, which is what he is used to.

How does this relate to your success in this course?

This section’s learning outcome is associated with the following course learning outcome: Analyze the concept and value of information literacy for successful lifelong learning. Mastering this learning outcome is essential to your success as a student; it will increase your chances of getting good grades and will increase your capacity to learn to your full potential in your academic, personal, and professional lives.

To review the course learning outcomes and their relevance to you, see the Your Roadmap to Success feature at the beginning of this book. Best of luck on your journey to success!

Once you have settled on your research question, it’s time to consider where you will find the information needed to answer your question and also how you will access this information. This task can feel overwhelming if you’re unfamiliar with libraries and how they’re organized.

Whereas the desires of library users are in a constant state of change, the actual aim of libraries has remained the same over generations. Libraries exist to provide access to information on any subject, from all points of view, to all people regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, or any other classification. They empower library users to freely choose the types of information they seek and the way they retrieve it. Working in this manner, libraries ensure the democratization of information and preserve our basic human right to information. They enable the wide disbursement of knowledge, not only to the privileged, but also to all of society.

In the United States, many different types of libraries serve varying communities and populations. They include public, school, academic, museum, medical, music, and even presidential libraries, as well as a variety of digital libraries. Each of these libraries has the goal of meeting the information needs of the distinct populations they serve. The following sections describe the libraries you’re most likely to use in your academic career.

Public and Academic Libraries

Public libraries are accessible by the general public and are usually funded through public tax dollars. They serve society’s need for information, while ensuring the democratization of this information. Many public libraries across the country are continuing to invest in their technological infrastructure by increasing the public’s access to computers and offering free Wi-Fi. Quite a few public libraries have also expanded their physical collections to include digital resources such as e-books, databases, podcasts, electronic languagelearning programs, and other services. Public library access requires a library card, which is often free for community residents. If you do not have a public library card, consider signing up for one. Increasing your access to public library resources is a great way to increase your academic success.

Academic libraries are connected to degree-offering institutions such as colleges and universities. These libraries exist to serve their students, faculty, and staff and not the general public; however, some public library systems form partnerships with local universities to offer an interlibrary loan program to their community. Interlibrary loan provides access to resources from other libraries. This type of agreement allows the general public free access to closed university library collections.

The collections that academic libraries provide are usually nonfiction and contain materials to support the specific courses, research, and degree programs offered at their institutions. These materials include digital collections, which are typically available to students and faculty 24 hours a day.

The Digital Library

The library you have access to is completely digital. This means that instead of physical books on library shelves, all of the resources have been digitized, or converted into electronic files, and are stored in databases. These electronic databases are searchable through a computer. A digital library has several unique features and many advantages. However, when you’re using a digital library for the first time, you may find that there are a few challenges. Let’s explore these in detail.

Advantages of a Digital Library

Using a digital library has many advantages:

· Whereas a physical library has operating hours, you can access the resources in a digital library any time of the day or night. Since an online library never closes, the resources are always available, even on weekends and holidays.

· As long as you have an Internet connection, you can access the library from anywhere in the world.

· Whereas physical libraries usually have only one or two copies of a particular book, resources in a digital library can often be accessed by many users at one time. You don’t need to wait for someone else to return the book you need!

· Most databases in a digital library don’t have checkout periods for resources the way physical libraries do. You can usually download items (such as articles, books, and videos) for as long as needed, and you can return to them online in the databases as often as you like.

· E-books most likely have a checkout period, but instead of your having to physically return the book, it will check itself back in by vanishing from your computer or e-reader.

· No checkouts for resources means no overdue fees!

Challenges of a Digital Library

Now, let’s consider some challenges to using a digital library:

· The digital library collection can be a bit tricky to browse. Whereas on physical shelves you can see many titles on a related topic right next to each other, you generally have to conduct a few different searches to be able to locate an appropriate number of related resources.

· While much of the world’s information is now available online, quite a bit of it is still contained only in books or other physical formats. Thus, some information is not available online and therefore not available in a digital library.

· Some digital libraries consist of a collection of databases containing information in a variety of formats, including journals, e-books, newspapers, company information, legal information, videos and other multimedia, reference books, and more. In many cases, you would need to search each of these databases individually to see whether they contain what you are looking for.

The best way to become familiar with a digital library is to use it. As you do, remember, you’re not alone! Reach out to a librarian whenever you feel overwhelmed and need assistance. In the next section, you’ll learn how a librarian can aid you with your research.

The Librarian as a Resource

One of the greatest resources at your disposal is your librarian. In both physical and digital libraries, librarians serve their patrons through the collections they offer, the programs they plan, and the technology devices they provide access to. Additionally, 21st century librarians are information professionals who are happy to provide personal research consultations and help you navigate technology to locate the resources you need. If you feel stuck, and could benefit from assistance locating information or a specific resource, feel free to reach out to your local librarian.

Five Ways Your Librarians Can Help

1. Suggest specific databases to use based on your topic.

2. Offer tips and suggestions for searching in specific databases.

3. Answer your research-related questions.

4. Troubleshoot problems you may have accessing the library databases.

5. Point you in the direction of credible information on your research topic.

Section 2.1 Knowledge Check Quiz

1. The democratization of information is reflected in a(n) library.

A. academic

B. public

C. school

2. Which of the following is more characteristic of a physical library than a digital library? A. No overdue fees

B. It never closes

C. It’s easier to browse

3. Which can better point you in the right direction of credible information for your research topic? A. A librarian

B. A database

Answers: 1 (B), 2 (C), 3 (A)

2.1 What Types of Libraries Are There?

©Credit Goes Here

Title Goes

Here

Your Roadmap to Success: Section 2.2

Learning Outcome:

Compare and contrast three systems for digitally accessing information.

Why is this important?

Mastering this outcome will help strengthen your researching skills and ability to locate

information on the Internet. Consider Liz, for example. Lately, Liz has been unable to access

some of her favorite websites and has been frustrated by the general slowness of the Inter-

net on her computer. She figured her computer was just getting old, so she started shopping

for a new one. She then learned some Internet tips in her GEN 103 course and tried updating

her Internet browser among other things. That solved the issues! She is now thankful she

didn’t go out and buy a new computer.

How does this relate to your success in this course?

This section’s learning outcome is associated with the following course learning outcome:

Determine the best search strategy for a given information need.

Mastering this learning

2.2

What Systems Can I Use

to Access Information?

outcome will enable you to save time in your busy life so that you can balance the needs of school, work, family, and other commitments.

To review the course learning outcomes and their relevance to you, see the Your Roadmap to Success feature at the beginning of this book. Best of luck on your journey to success!

All libraries have a system or process for organizing and accessing their collection that is specific to the resources they carry and the communities they serve. Public and academic libraries now use digital or electronic catalogs that allow users to search their collections through a computer. These catalogs have increased the accessibility of library materials by making them easier to locate within a library’s collection. The Internet is another system that has significantly increased the ease of accessing and locating information. Let’s take a closer look at how to access information in the digital age.

Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC)

An online public access catalog (OPAC), or simply catalog for short, is a digital record that contains all of the physical items located within a library. It may also contain a record of the e-books and journals a library carries, though typically not its databases. Public and academic libraries commonly have this type of catalog and provide access to it on the Internet, so you can search their catalog from the comfort of your own home. These catalogs are searchable by title, author, subject, keyword, and more. It’s important to keep in mind that only libraries with physical library collections use this type of catalog. Since the Library is a purely digital library, it does not have a physical collection and therefore does not use a catalog. Instead, it uses a different type of tool, which you will learn more about shortly.

Databases

A database is a digital collection of stored information that has been organized, often by several criteria, such as author, title, and subject. Databases include abstracts, full-text documents, images, statistics, and more. Some databases contain general information on a variety of topics, and others contain information only within a specific discipline or field. Think of a database like a virtual library shelf. It contains many of the same resources you would find on a shelf in a physical library, but in a digital form. Databases contain many different types and formats of information like those you learned about in Module 1.

In many cases, content inside a database is leased through a subscription, so libraries do not actually own any of the resources they provide access to. When terms of these subscriptions change, so does the content readily available within a library’s database. This means the number of e-journals and articles available can fluctuate, as they change with the terms of the subscription.

The databases in the Library are located on the Internet but are not made freely available. Only students, faculty, and staff are able to use these collections. Once in the

2.2 What Systems Can I Use to Access Information?

Student Portal, students have access to their courses and the services provided to them.

Quick Tip!

Troubleshooting With Technology

Using technology can often be infuriating, especially when it stops working or doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. The remainder of this module includes quick tip boxes to help solve some common issues students experience when accessing the databases in the Library. Often, students assume the database is having issues, when in reality the problem lies with their computer, Wi-Fi signal, browser, or something else.

At first, searching in a database can seem confusing, intimidating, and often frustrating. However, as with most things in life, the more you practice, the easier it becomes. A database is basically a word finder. It does not understand or interpret meaning. It simply scans its collection for a resource that has all of the words you entered into the search box. This means that a good list of keywords is essential to finding the information you need to answer your research question. We discuss keyword searches later in this module. For now, consider the following tips and tricks for effectively searching in a database.

1. Identify what you want to search by thinking critically about your assignment. Avoid typing in a question or sentence. Identify the main ideas from your topic and think of keywords that represent those main ideas.

2. Think of other ways to say the same thing. Part of successful researching requires the use of synonyms. If you were looking for information on social networking, you could also try searching for online social websites, Facebook, Twitter, and so forth. These searches would yield different results. Think about how others might say what you are looking for and try adjusting your search terms accordingly.

3. Enter only a few keywords into the search box. The database will search for something that has every word you enter.

4. Make sure your spelling is correct. Many databases do not correct for spelling. This means that if you misspell a word in the search box, you may not receive any results, without being notified as to why. To prevent this problem, always make sure that the words you put into the search box are spelled correctly.

5. Use quotation marks when searching for a phrase or words you want to keep together. Putting quotes around words or phrases tells the database you want to search only results that have those terms in that exact order. For example, you would type “attention deficit disorder” for information about this condition. Without the quotation marks, the database will search for each of the three words individually, flooding your list of results with resources you don’t want.

6. Remember, less is more! Try using just one keyword or phrase in each search box, and always put different keywords into separate search boxes.

With the increased access universities are providing to databases, conducting research in the 21st century is becoming more manageable than ever. A recent study found that students with access to databases were able to acquire information at a faster rate than those conducting traditional physical research. However, the study also found these same students suffered from low Internet speeds and a lack of knowledge on how to use databases, which directly impacted their success researching in that environment (Taghikhani & Babalhavaeji, 2015). Later in this module, you will learn the specifics on the technology required to use databases so that you can find success researching in an online environment.

Practice It!

Searching in Databases

Use ProQuest Newsstand to find a newspaper article written shortly after a well-known news event such as Hurricane Katrina or the 2008 presidential election.

Locate a more recent article (newspaper or scholarly) on the same topic. Was any information missing from the original newspaper account? Did the updated article provide a different view or perspective from the account given in early reports?

The Internet

The Internet consists of interconnected networks of millions of computers all over the world. These networked computers have compatible communication standards, so they can share information with one another. The Internet can be accessed through a device (computer, laptop, tablet, smart phone, and so on) that has a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP). The type of connection provided by an ISP can greatly affect the speed with which it connects to websites, opens files, and streams video. When signing up for Internet service, you have the option of cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), dial-up, or satellite connections. Each has advantages and disadvantages, some of which can be significant—for example, not being able to watch videos or access certain websites, such as the Library databases. Spend some time investigating your ISP options and the type of connection that will work best for you.

Information on the Internet can best be accessed through a browser, often called a web browser. Browsers are software programs that access, read, and display information from the Internet. Browsers communicate with a web page and display its information in a clear visual presentation. Here are a few of the most popular browsers.

· Mozilla Firefox for Windows & Mac (www.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/new)

· Internet Explorer for Windows (www.windows.microsoft.com/en-us

/internet-explorer/download-ie)

· Google Chrome for Windows & Mac (www.google.com/chrome/?)

· Safari for Mac (www.apple.com/safari/)

Each browser is quite different from the others listed and has a unique set of abilities.

Over time, you may notice the effectiveness of your browser waning. Websites may not visually present correctly and may load slower than usual or not at all. You may notice that you are unable to watch videos or are unable to open PDF articles you find in the Library databases. To prevent these issues from occurring, you need to keep your browser healthy. As you surf along the Internet, your browser can become bogged down. Other sites may be updating to newer versions of software, and eventually, your browser can no longer keep up. Luckily, you can do a few routine things to maintain the health of your browser.

When you’re using the Internet, the websites you visit send small text files called cookies to your web browser and are stored on your computer. Cookies store information about you on the website’s server, such as details about what you clicked on and any preferences you may have saved. While this may sound like an invasion of privacy, cookies can actually be useful when you want to log back in to a website without signing back in, or have a site remember what you put into your virtual shopping cart. Since access to your cookies could compromise your privacy, it would be wise to periodically delete the cookies stored on your computer.

To enhance your experience searching online, your browser will download the web pages you view and store them in an area of your computer called the cache (pronounced cash). By doing this, the browser doesn’t have to retrieve the files on each return visit. As a result, at times a less current version of the web page is displayed or the page does not come up at all. Often, students experience difficulty accessing the Library website because their browser tries to access an older version of the library website. Given that the Library website is updated each week, students need to clear out their cache regularly. If your cache and cookies are not cleared regularly, the performance of your browser will be slowed down as it continues to collect large cookie and cache data files. Clearing your cache and cookies should be a routine part of your week, as it can significantly improve the speed and performance of your browser and protect your privacy. Consider setting a goal of clearing these files out on Day 1 of each new week of a course. Also, keep in mind that clearing your cache and cookies is the first troubleshooting step you should try when experiencing difficulties accessing websites online, including the Library and its databases. For instructions on how to clear the cache and cookies from your browser, click on the corresponding link below.

· Internet Explorer for Windows

(https://guides.instructure.com/m/4214/l/334965-how-do-i-clear-my-browsercache-on-a-pc)

· Firefox for Windows & Mac

(https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache)

· Safari for Windows & Mac

(https://guides.instructure.com/m/4214/l/334964-how-do-i-clear-my-browsercache-on-a-mac)

· Chrome for Windows & Mac

(https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95582)

In addition to clearing your cache and cookies, you also need to perform software updates regularly to ensure your ability to access websites and Internet files, such as PDFs. Following is a checklist of updates that you should perform regularly for optimal browser health.

Quick Tip!

Keeping Your Browser Healthy

Follow these steps to ensure your browser is functioning at its best:

· Clear out your cache and cookies.

· Update your browser to its latest version. You can do this by visiting the website for each browser or clicking on the name of each browser listed previously.

· Update your Adobe Flash Player (http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer). Flash allows you to see animation and video.

· Adobe Reader (www.adobereader.com) allows you to view PDFs on the Internet. If you are unable to read documents of this type, try downloading the most recent version of Adobe Reader.

· Java (www.java.com/en) enables you to view certain website applications and should be updated regularly.

· Adblock Plus (https://adblockplus.org/en) blocks unwanted ads, pop-ups, and banners. Consider installing it if you have these issues.

Once you have an Internet connection and a web browser to help you access websites, it’s time to use a search engine to access all of that wonderful information online. A search engine helps you navigate the Internet. Examples of popular search engines include

· Google (www.google.com)

· Yahoo (www.yahoo.com)

· Bing (www.bing.com)

· Ask (www.ask.com)

All search engines generally search the same way using an algorithm called natural language searching. Natural language searching understands meaning and ranks your results based on the number of search terms that appear on the web page. That’s why typing a question in a Google search box usually yields good results. However, this is not the only way that search engines determine which results to give you. They also use an algorithm that decides which web pages it thinks you want to see, based on what you have clicked on in the past. That’s right! Search engines track you and monitor what types of web pages you clicked on based on your past search result lists. This is one reason search engines are great for giving you popular information, but not always the best for getting scholarly sources to use for research.

The information you get from search engines is fine for most cases. Often, students turn to Google because it’s quick, easy to use, and provides plenty of results. However, since anyone can publish any type of information he or she wants on the Internet, not all Google results will be reliable. So for academic research, consider collecting information from a variety of sources, including sources in the Library, to ensure you have a well-rounded selection of material on your research topic.

2.3

What Services Are Offered

at the Library?

Your Roadmap to Success: Section 2.3

Learning Outcome: Describe the services provided.

Why is this important?

Mastering this outcome will help you become familiar with what your university library can do for you. Consider Kyle, for example. Kyle hadn’t been in school in many years and was feeling unsure about how to “get back in the game”. After learning about the services provided Kyle was relieved to hear about all the resources it could provide to help him navigate his assignments. He was particularly glad to hear about the research guides because he needed a place to start researching his upcoming paper.

How does this relate to your success in this course?

This section’s outcome is associated with the following course outcome: Develop strategies to access and use information ethically and legally. Mastering this learning outcome will help you maintain your integrity and reputation, and protect you from legal action and other negative consequences both within and outside of school.

To review the course learning outcomes and their relevance to you, see the Your Roadmap to Success feature at the beginning of this book. Best of luck on your journey to success!

In the Library, you have access to a variety of resources, all of which are in digital format and accessible on your computer. Some of these digital resources include

· scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals.

· e-books.

· newspapers and magazines.

· encyclopedias and dictionaries.

· videos and images.

While the Library is a digital library, the services it offers students, faculty, and staff closely mirror those of a traditional academic library. These services are meant to provide support in using the library, with the goal of helping each library user to become a confident and independent researcher.

Many beginning students have never used a digital library before. While this can initially feel exciting, sometimes those feelings turn to frustration. Some try to apply the skills they use in a physical library, like browsing a library shelf. Others may not have any past library experience to draw from and are at a complete loss as to where to start. Fortunately, academic libraries have specialized librarians to assist students, and the Library is no different.

Reference Services

The goal of a library’s reference service is to provide research assistance. Reference librarians provide instruction on how to use the library and offer tips for conducting research to help students, faculty, and staff become independent library users.

The Library offers multiple methods by which students can contact librarians. Each has benefits, and often students will have their favorite method for contacting us. All contact information for the library can be found on the library website.

In Module 1, you were introduced to Irwin, who was researching social networking for his computer literacy course. When we left him, he had conducted his background research, refined his topic, and constructed his research plan using a KWHL chart. Being new to the processes of academic research and a using a digital library, Irwin knows he needs to reach out to a librarian for assistance. Let’s take a look at the different methods Irwin can use to contact an librarian.

2.3 What Services Are Offered at the Library?

Phone Reference

Phone reference is a great way to speak to a librarian as if you walked into a library and right up to the information help desk. If you have a detailed reference question, need direct instruction on how to conduct research, or would like to learn how to use a particular database, phone reference is the most effective way to get this information.

Additionally, when students experience technical issues using the library, such as having difficulties accessing the library web page or specific databases, phone reference is recommended. The process of troubleshooting the issue is much easier to communicate for both student and librarian when using this method.

The best part of my job is helping our students. I interact with students every day and a lot of times they are frustrated or feel overwhelmed with how to do research for a paper. I love being able to teach them how to do effective research and witness when it all “clicks” for them and they feel immense relief. Helping students develop information literacy skills, so they can be more successful in school and beyond is why I became a librarian.

—Jacline Contrino, Librarian

Email Reference

Many students enjoy the ease of using email to contact the library. Email is available 24 hours a day, so students are able to reach out at their exact time of need. Librarians respond to email within one business day, so the response time is relatively quick. Email works best when students clearly express the type of help they require by including details. Since email does not allow for a back-and-forth conversation as phone reference does, students should state exactly what kind of information they need, any specific problems they have encountered locating that information, and what strategies they have already used to attempt to locate that information. The more information provided, the more easily the librarian will be able to understand how best to offer assistance. Being as specific as possible also ensures the assistance provided will put the student on the right track.

Chat Reference

In the past decade, chat reference services have significantly increased in popularity in the academic library sector. Chat has become one of the most popular and convenient forms of reference.

Essentially, a chat reference interaction is an instant message (IM) between a student and librarian. These interactions are meant to be quick and are best used for basic, directional questions that can be answered within a brief period of time, such as questions about what database to use or where to locate a specific tutorial. The chat consists of a student clicking the chat feature on the library website, where he or she is instantly connected to a librarian who initiates a reference dialogue with the student. In short, chat gives students a channel for getting answers to their questions in real time in the virtual environment.

All communication through chat reference is typed. Without any verbal cues to hear or body language to see, the correspondents can easily misinterpret the message. For instance, a student typing a message in all capital letters could be perceived as shouting. Following netiquette rules can help avoid misinterpretations. Netiquette, a portmanteau of internet and etiquette, refers to common courtesies used during communication while online—such as being polite, following grammar rules, and being patient.

Because the nature of chat messaging is to be brief, extensive research questions that require a multistep research process are not ideal for this medium; these questions are best addressed through a phone or email interaction. These methods of communication allow for detailed explanations of issues and for more comprehensive support.

Just-in-Time Reference

With the exception of email, the reference services described in the preceding sections are available only at specific times on certain days of the week. This can make it difficult for students to receive the help they need when they need it most.

To help alleviate this problem, the Library offers a service that provides students with reference assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is a knowledge base that allows students to search through a list of frequently asked questions to locate an answer to their

specific question.

Quick Tip!

QuickAnswers

If you experience a technical issue when using the Library, try using QuickAnswers to

search for assistance. There’s a good chance you can find the answer to your question there!

QuickAnswers is populated with the Library’s most asked reference questions and is updated regularly, so the chance students will find answers to their questions is quite good. If students are unable to locate an answer to their questions in QuickAnswers or would like further clarification, an email function allows students to contact the library directly from this platform.

After exploring his options for receiving research assistance, Irwin decides he’ll need a phone conversation with a librarian to help get him started. He checks the library website for its phone hours and begins making a list of questions he’d like to ask a librarian about his research topic. On his KWHL chart, Irwin added some information he found while conducting his background research. He also listed that he would like to locate scholarly books and articles that will help him answer his research questions (Table 2.1). He knows his best chance of finding these resources is in the Library, but he isn’t familiar with using a digital library.

Table 2.1: Irwin’s KWHL chart

What do I know?

What do I want to know?

How do I find out?

What have I learned?

Social networking has been around for at least 10 years.

It’s useful for staying in touch with friends and family.

It helps me keep up with groups and organizations I’m interested in.

Some of the gaming systems I use have social networks built in.

How do others use social networking?

Has it been around for longer than 10 years?

Does it impact my life the same way as it does others in society?

What are popular social networking tools?

Has social networking evolved with society?

What are popular social networking tools in the workplace?

How are companies using social networks to enhance their organizations?

Background

research—Wikipedia & Google

Scholarly sources from the library— books, articles

Internet sources— websites, blogs, podcasts

SNs have been around since the late 1800s.

Currently, many SNs exist for a wide range of purposes.

Later in the module, we will catch up with Irwin and see what he learned from his conversation with a librarian.

Tutorials

A tutorial is a type of instruction designed to help increase your knowledge on a specific topic. Tutorials can be very helpful when you need only basic information to get you started. Digital or video tutorials are available all over the Internet on a variety of topics. The YouTube website has tutorials on a broad range of topics from software support to how to catch fish. Effective tutorials aim to share small pieces or chunks of instruction at a time in brief increments. For instance, if you would like to learn how to edit videos in iMovie, you would most likely benefit from a tutorial that introduced the topic to you; then you could watch subsequent tutorials that build in difficulty. This segmented type of instruction allows you to master each step at your own pace, which may prevent you from feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. If all the instructions were included in one very long tutorial, you would need to start and stop the tutorial as you tried out each step of instruction, possibly losing your place and having to rewind or backtrack through the tutorial.

Student Profile: Michelle

Michelle is just starting a new online education program. She is about to use Microsoft Word to type her first paper but is unfamiliar with the program and doesn’t know where to begin. She’s never used MS Word before and is feeling overwhelmed. One day at work, she shares her predicament with a colleague who suggests she try searching for help online. When she gets home from work, Michelle begins googling for help using MS Word. She immediately finds many different tutorials that will meet her needs. She tries watching a few and finds one that is easy for her to understand and follow. She notices that each tutorial is brief and builds in difficulty, as she masters the steps necessary to increase her knowledge of this program. This approach is perfect for her, and she is able to successfully complete her first paper.

The Library recognizes the importance tutorials play in the success of students and therefore has created numerous tutorials on topics related to research and how to navigate the library and its databases. These tutorials can be found in the form of video tutorials or tip sheets to help point students in the right direction. The Library video tutorials are short, usually less than 4 minutes, and are focused on teaching students how to become independent users of a digital library. Tip sheets include images to help guide students and contain brief pieces of instruction. Students can download these tip sheets and save them to their computer for future reference. You can find tutorials on how to use the Library on the library’s website and in your course materials.

Research Guides

A research guide is an organized collection of resources to aid in the research of a specific topic or subject. These tools are often also referred to as pathfinders, or subject guides, and can be used as a starting point when beginning a research paper or project. They may include recommended books, journals, databases, and websites that might assist students with their research. The Library has created a large selection of research guides on various topics related to the degree programs offered. Examples of research guides you can find in the Library are Anthropology, International Business, Literature, Primary Sources, and History. Here is an example of a research guide on the topic of Entrepreneurship.

Practice It!

Research Guides in the Library

Spend some time exploring the Library and locate the research guides. Make a note of

the ones that are on topics you may be expected to research for your degree. Be sure to

check back periodically, as new guides are always being created to meet students’ needs.

Your Roadmap to Success: Section 2.4

Learning Outcome:

Explain how to search for information in the Library.

Why is this important?

Mastering this outcome will help you locate the information you need to do your assign-

ments quickly and efficiently. Consider Adrian, for example. Adrian’s first visit to the digital

library was frustrating. He found lots of resources but couldn’t find anything related to the

specific topic he wanted to research. After learning more about searching in the library, he

realized he had been using the wrong databases. His second visit was much more fruitful: He

found all he needed in just a few minutes!

How does this relate to your success in this course?

This section’s outcome is associated with the following course outcome:

Utilize electronic

tools to search for, locate, organize, and communicate information.

Mastering this learning

outcome will help you express yourself. It will also give you the tools to find the “answers”

you need—whether you are researching a school assignment, looking for a new job,

seeking advice for your family, or otherwise.

To review the course learning outcomes and their relevance to you, see the

Your Roadmap

Success

feature at the beginning of this book. Best of luck on your journey to success!

How Do I Find Information

2.4

the

Library?

Now that you understand the services the Library provides, it’s time to explore how to use those services. There are two methods for accessing the library website: The first is through a link in your student portal, and the second is through the Library tab in your online classroom.

Databases in the Library

The Library collection consists of a plethora of different databases that contain e-books, articles, videos, images, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and more. The two largest databases in the Library are EBSCOhost and ProQuest. They are multidisciplinary databases, which means they carry information on a wide variety of subjects. Additionally, the Library subscribes to an e-book database called ebrary. This database contains over 100,000 nonfiction academic titles. In addition to these three databases, the Library also subscribes to quite a few others. The following snapshot provides information on a few other databases in the Library.

Snapshot of a Few Library Databases

· JSTOR (pronounced Jay-store) is a humanities database that contains information on art, history, social sciences, and literature.

· ERIC contains information on educational topics. It also includes a special thesaurus that provides a list of descriptive terms that you can use to help you search the database.

· Mergent is a business database that provides a wealth of information on both public and private companies.

· PubMed Central is a digital archive with information on biomedical and life sciences journal literature from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed and managed by NIH’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in the National Library of Medicine.

· Films on Demand contains academic videos on a variety of subjects from producers such as PBS, A&E, the History Channel, and others.

· ProQuest Newsstand contains information from newspapers, news wires, and other news sources around the globe.

· Credo Reference is a reference database, meaning it has hundreds of books, such as encyclopedias, covering every major subject. Additionally, it contains images (art, diagrams, maps, and photos), audio pronunciation files, and sound clips.

· Sage Journals includes leading international peer-reviewed journals in a variety of disciplines.

Often, students will begin their research expecting to find one perfect article that entirely explains their topic or answers their research question. However, this rarely happens. Instead, you will most likely find several articles that discuss aspects of your topic and make points that are more limited yet still relevant to your research. Some articles may have only a single paragraph of information you can use, whereas others may have only a sentence. Conducting good research takes time, so you should spend some time strategically exploring many different articles collecting the bits and pieces of information within them that will be useful to your research.

Quick Tip!

Accessing the Databases

Sometimes students find they are asked to enter a user name and password while searching in a database. This most often means there is an issue with the student’s browser or Internet connection. To correct this problem, start by clearing out your cache and cookie files. In most cases, taking this step instantly corrects the problem.

Database searching requires students to reframe the way they perform searches. When searching the Internet, the search engine is in the driver’s seat, meaning that it makes decisions for us. While this makes searching easy, the results that are returned are often narrow in scope and predominantly non-academic. With database searching, the student is in the driver’s seat. To get the information they want, students will have to learn how to command the database to return what they need. While this takes more work, the results are far better, deeper, and much more appropriate for academic research.

—Cynthia Lewis, Librarian

Keyword Search

Keyword searching will likely be the most common way you search for information inside and outside the Library. Keyword searching allows you to construct a search by looking for an exact word or combination of words contained in the author, title, or subject fields in the library databases.

Module 1 introduced you to the first step in conducting academic research, which required you to think carefully about your topic and brainstorm a list of keywords. When conducting background research on the Internet, test out your keywords, looking for more to add to your list. Consider synonyms you could use to search with and also how scholars in the field would phrase the concepts you are researching.

As you experiment with your keywords, you will see different articles in your results. This is why it’s important to brainstorm a list of different keywords before beginning your search. Since databases are only word finders, using many different keywords increases your chances of finding a variety of articles on your topic. Experimenting with a diverse list of keywords is often the most effective way to locate the best information.

Let’s check back in with Irwin and see how his phone consultation went with a librarian. After explaining his research dilemma to the librarian, she wanted to know what keywords he used to conduct his background research. He told her that he used social networking, Facebook, and society. She suggested that he also add “social media” (with quotation marks) to his list of keywords. She reminded Irwin of the importance of using quotation marks to keep terms or phrases together. Since Irwin wants to focus on the benefits of social networking in the workplace, the librarian also added in the terms workplace and LinkedIn to their list of keywords. Lastly, Irwin mentioned that during his background research, he came across some information by a man named Marshall McLuhan and wanted to see if they could find any library resources written by him. The librarian suggested Irwin add McLuhan’s name to the growing list of keywords. The librarian then showed Irwin how to navigate to the FindIt@AU search box and begin using his keywords.

Author Search

Conducting an author search is beneficial when you know the name of a resource’s author but need to locate the actual work. The author can be a single person, a group of people, or even an organization. The process for conducting this type of search in a search engine and in a database differs greatly. When you’re conducting this type of search using a search engine, the more information you can provide, the better. Try using the full name of the first author listed. Structuring the name as first name last or last name, first doesn’t really matter. Either way, you are sure to get results you can work with. For example, Irwin could try searching for Marshall McLuhan or McLuhan, Marshall and Google will understand what he is looking for.

Searching by author name in a database is a bit more complicated. Databases do not recognize punctuation, and including it in the search box confuses the database. This means searching for McLuhan, Marshall will not work because the comma separating the names will not be recognized. Instead, try searching with the author’s last name only. Since it’s impossible to predict how the author’s name is listed within an article (M. McLuhan or McLuhan, Marshall or Marshall McLuhan), using the last name only is your safest bet to retrieving the information you need. Many databases give you the option of selecting an author search. While this is not considered an advanced researching skill, databases often keep this option on their advanced searching page. The following example shows how Irwin conducted this search in FindIt@AU.

Title Search

Searching for the title of a resource can be a beneficial search strategy when you know the exact title. When searching online and in a database, you’ll have the most luck by searching with the complete title of a resource and placing quotation marks around it, such as “Five tips for running your own business.” You will most likely have some luck searching with a partial title using a search engine. Even inputting a few words from a title will most likely yield results that will lead you to the title you are looking for. Searching by title in a database works best when you know the complete title or at least the majority of it. For example, during his background research, Irwin noticed the article “Anonymity or fame: What influences behavior on social networking sites?” was referenced multiple times. This is a good sign the article contains some important information, so he decides to search for it in the library databases. Since punctuation confuses the database, it’s best to leave it out completely from your title search. Just like author searching, the option for a title-only search can usually be located on the advanced search page. Irwin decides to use only a portion of the title to search with. He remembers from his conversation with the librarian that he needs to put quotation marks around the words he would like to keep together.

Subject Search

Conducting a subject search is useful when you would like to explore resources on a particular topic. Engaging in this type of search on the Internet simply entails typing a subject into a search engine’s search box. In a database, subject searches work best when you use the scholarly term to describe the subject you are searching. Items in a database are assigned subject tags or headings based on topics that are discussed within the resource. This is where the keywords you come up with during your background research come in. Let’s say you want to conduct a subject search on prisons. The database will recognize the subject of prisons, but scholars use the term incarceration more frequently to describe the same thing. Using the term incarceration with one or two of your other keywords could provide you with a greater number of results that are more focused on your research topic. Another example is the term heart attack. The database will return results using these terms, but to find scholarly articles on this topic, you would need to search with the term myocardial infarction. Using the subject headings in the database will help you identify when using a different term or terms would be more effective.

Notice the Limit by Subject section on the results page lists alternative terms that could be used to search the same thing. Simply placing a check in the box next to the subject will update your search results with resources on that topic.

If the subject of your search contains more than one word, remember to put quotation marks around it. For example, use “acid rain,” “heart attack,” or “myocardial infarction.” This approach is important when you’re using both a search engine and database. Remember, quotation marks tell search engines and databases that you would like to keep your search terms together in a specific order. In Irwin’s case, since the focus of his paper is social networking, his subject search would look like this screenshot of the FindIt@AU search box.

Notice that Irwin selected SU Subject Terms from the drop-down menu to search for social networking as a subject of a resource. This will reduce the number of search results he receives and ensure they are more targeted toward his research topic.

Quick Tip!

Using Quotation Marks

You usually don’t need to place quotation marks around the term

United States

. However,

each word

must

be spelled out completely and not abbreviated as

. Searching with the

abbreviation

tells the database you are searching with the word

, as in “What is the best

car for

to buy?” and not the words

United States

Search Using Boolean Operators

Now that you have learned how to conduct different types of searches, let’s discuss how you can broaden or narrow them through the use of Boolean operators, words that can be used in a keyword search to produce a more focused set of results. Including the Boolean operator terms AND, OR, and NOT to a search inquiry can alter and sometimes enhance your results, as follows:

AND between two terms requires the return of only results that contain both words. If only one word is contained in a resource, it will not appear in your search results. Example: “Social networking” AND “Society”

Figure 2.2

Society

Social

networking

AND = both words

OR between two terms means either word in a resource can be returned. Example: “Social networking” OR “Social Media”

Figure 2.3

Social

media

Social

networking

OR = either word

Social

media

Social

networking

OR = either word

NOT requires that any resource that includes that word will not be given in your search results. Example: “Social Networking” NOT “Social Media”

Figure 2.4

Social

media

Social

networking

NOT = one word included,

one word excluded

Searching with Boolean operators was quite popular a few years ago. However, as technology has evolved, some database vendors decided to include Boolean operators next to their search boxes, so you can select the operator you want instead of typing it into the search box. This is shown in the following example.

When using the Google search engine, you no longer need to use the standard Boolean terms AND and NOT. The term AND is now implied when you type a string of terms into a Google search box. Google still recognizes the term NOT. However, it also recognizes the minus sign (–) as indicating NOT. Try using the minus sign in front of search terms you want to exclude from your search, and Google will search for websites that do not use those words. For example, if you are looking for information on things to do in San Diego, but you do not want to visit Sea World, try typing “San Diego” –“Sea World”. You should not include a space between the minus sign and the name Sea World. Typing this search into a Google search box will ensure you receive results about San Diego, but none that include information on Sea World.

Google still recognizes the Boolean term OR, and it still functions as just described. Try using it to find synonyms when conducting background research. Typing San Diego OR Sea World will help you find applicable websites related to the topic.

Advanced Searching Techniques

Once you get a feel for locating and accessing information in a digital library, you’re ready to explore some advanced database searching techniques that will help focus and refine your search results more effectively. These tools are simple to use and can make a tremendous impact in the quality of your search results. has an advanced search feature that contains many different options for broadening and narrowing your search results. Let’s see how Irwin applies advanced database searching techniques to gather resources for his paper.

A Search for Multiple Concepts

Searching for multiple concepts at once allows you to narrow your focus and reduce the number of search results. When you’re conducting this type of search, it’s important to keep each concept in a separate search box. Irwin decides to conduct a subject search on “social networking” and “social media” to find resources that will help him gain a better understanding of how both topics relate to each other.

Next, Irwin begins to strategically use different combinations of his keywords as search terms. He remembers from his conversation with the librarian that he should keep a list of the keyword combinations he tries so that he doesn’t lose track of his searches. He begins by taking a close look at the list of keywords he brainstormed earlier:

· “social network”

· “social media”

· society

· workplace

· Facebook

· LinkedIn

· ~~Marshall McLuhan~~

Notice that Irwin crossed off the last keyword, since he successfully found the information he was looking for during his author search. After looking closely at how his keywords relate, he begins structuring his database searches. He groups the concepts “social media,” Facebook, and society together. He decides to perform a search using those terms.

This search results in over 17,000 matches! This is way too many for Irwin to search through. He decides to change Facebook to a subject search and keep “social media” and society as keywords.

This search gives Irwin just over 200 results and is much more manageable. After combing through his search results, Irwin tries adding the term Facebook back in as a keyword and moves “social media” to a subject term. He continues to strategically experiment by performing different searches using different keywords and subjects. When Irwin is ready, he updates his list with the search combinations he has tried and crosses out the keywords he no longer needs to search with (Table 2.2). After a time, he ends up completing enough different combinations of keywords to find the resources he needs to write his paper. Table 2.2: Irwin’s revised list of keywords and searches

Keywords

Searching Round 1

Keywords

Searching Round 2

“social networking” “social media” ~~society~~ workplace ~~Facebook~~

~~Marshall McLuhan~~

“social media” Facebook society

“social media” Facebook – Subject society

“social media” – Subject

Facebook society

“social networking”

Facebook society

“social

networking” “social media” ~~society~~ workplace ~~Facebook~~

~~Marshall McLuhan~~

“social networking”

“social networking” – Subject

LinkedIn workplace

“social networking” workplace

“social media” – Subject

workplace LinkedIn

“social media” LinkedIn

“social media” workplace

Truncation

Another technique is called truncation. Truncation places a special symbol at the end of a word to retrieve all possible endings of that word. To truncate a word while keyword searching in the Library databases, use the asterisk (*), which you can enter by pressing Shift and 8 at the same time. This asterisk notifies the database that you would like to search for all variations of that of word. For example, typing ethic* in the search box tells the database to retrieve items that have the words ethic, ethics, ethical, or ethicist. Or typing instruct* will bring up instruct, instruction, and instructional.

Limiters

Another advanced technique for refining your search results is to use special limiters, options that allow you to weed out results that may not be useful to your research. For example, when searching for scholarly information in the Library database, you will always want to limit your results to Scholarly/Peer Reviewed by checking the appropriate limiter box. In addition, you may also limit your results by date, type of publication, source of information (journals, magazines, newspapers, and so on), subject (which was mentioned earlier), and more. In many databases, you can find these options on your search results page.

During Irwin’s conversation with the librarian, she briefly showed him the limiters available focusing on the scholarly/peer reviewed and date options. Since Irwin needs at least two scholarly sources for his assignment, she showed him how to check the Limit to Scholarly/ Peer Reviewed option. Additionally, since Irwin’s topic was on a type of technology, she suggested he play with the date range option and make sure he had enough information from a recent publication that had been published within the last 2 to 3 years. This will ensure Irwin is using the most updated information on his topic. Using these tips, he was able to successfully complete the searches he conducted earlier in the module and collect a few articles for his paper.

Quick Tip!

Refining Your Searching Techniques

If you find yourself struggling with using advanced searching techniques or even with how to brainstorm keywords, check out the LibraryU webinar series, where you can learn about using the Library. These prerecorded sessions cover a range of topics. Since they are prerecorded, you have the option of viewing them at your own pace.

2.4 How Do I Find Information in the Library?

2.5

How Can I Gather Information

Effectively?

Your Roadmap to Success: Section 2.5

Learning Outcome:

Explore different methods for gathering and collecting information.

Why is this important?

Mastering this outcome will help you process large amounts of information so that it is suit-

able for your needs. Consider Alicia, for example. While Alicia was glad that she now had all

of the articles she needed to write her paper, she felt overwhelmed looking at the sheer num-

ber of them. Some of the articles were very long, and she didn’t have much time. However,

after she learned some methods for gathering and collecting information, she was relieved

to have some strategies to get through all the articles quickly and efficiently.

How does this relate to your success in this course?

This section’s learning outcome is associated with the following course learning outcome:

Determine the best search strategy for a given information need.

Mastering this learning out-

come will enable you to save time in your busy life so that you can balance the needs of

school, work, family, and other commitments.

To review the course learning outcomes and their relevance to you, see the

Your Roadmap to

Success

feature at the beginning of this book. Best of luck on your journey to success!

The focus of this module thus far has been on how to locate and access information on the Internet and in the Library. Now that you know where to find the information you require, how do you gather the most important pieces of it to answer your research question or satisfy your information need? During this phase of the research process, researchers use a few techniques to help them collect and identify these essential pieces of information.

Scanning and Skimming

Scanning and skimming are techniques researchers use to determine whether or not a resource contains information that will be valuable to their research. These techniques are also used in speed reading because they allow you to take in large amounts of text very quickly. While scanning and skimming can be used together to deliberately search for specific pieces of information, they each have their own distinct purpose. Scanning is generally employed first to evaluate whether a source warrants further investigating. If the source passes the scanning test, it’s time to employ a skimming technique to gather further information that can be used as part of your research. Let’s look at each one a bit more closely.

The act of scanning begins with a plan for looking in specific locations of a text for specific pieces of information like keywords, ideas, or specific subjects. This way you can rapidly cover a great deal of material to locate a specific fact or piece of information. For instance, if you were looking for a research article on the health benefits of vegetarianism, you would begin with a quick scan of the title and abstract looking to see if any specific benefits are mentioned in either. The abstract is a summary of a journal article, so if your article has one, that is a good place to start. Next, you would look at the organization of the article’s content to see if there is a section or heading in the article dedicated to exploring these health benefits in detail. Scanning is very useful for finding specific information such as a name, fact, date, or statistic without having to read the entire article. When scanning text, you must be willing to skip over large sections of text without reading or understanding them.

Here are some tips for successfully scanning a resource, such as a book or article:

· At all times, keep in mind what you are searching for. Holding the image of the word or idea clearly in your mind will likely cause it to appear more clearly than the surrounding words.

· Anticipate in what form the information is likely to appear—numbers, proper nouns, and so on.

· Analyze the organization of the content before starting to scan. If material is familiar or fairly brief, you may be able to scan the entire article in a single search.

· Let your eyes run rapidly over several lines of print at a time.

· When you find a sentence that has the information you seek, read the entire sentence. (Adapted from Anne Arundel Community College, https://www.aacc.edu /tutoring/file/skimming.pdf)

If you retrieve valuable tidbits of information from a quick scan of your text, it’s time to move on to skimming. In skimming, you rapidly move your eyes over the text with the purpose of getting the main ideas, or overview, but not all of the details. Taking the example we used previously, if an initial scanning suggests that the article does discuss the health benefits of vegetarianism, you would continue skimming the section of the article with the best information related to this topic, noting the specific health benefits mentioned and any other important details that help answer your research question. Because skimming is done quickly and can affect your comprehension, you should not use it all the time.

Here are some tips for skimming an article:

· Read the title; it is the shortest possible summary of the content.

· Read the introduction or lead-in paragraph.

· Read the first paragraph and the concluding paragraph completely.

· If there are subheadings, read each one, looking for relationships among them.

· Read the first sentence of each remaining paragraph looking for the main idea. In most paragraphs, the main idea appears in the first sentence.

· Search the text looking for clue words that answer who, what, when, why, and how

proper nouns

unusual words, especially if capitalized qualifying adjectives (best, worst, most, and so on)

typographical cues—italic, boldface, underlining, asterisks, and so on (Adapted from Anne Arundel Community College, https://www.aacc.edu/tutoring/file/skimming.pdf)

Online Note Taking

After a resource passes the scanning and skimming test, and you’ve identified which pieces of information are most useful, it’s time to begin taking notes. While there is nothing wrong with using a paper and pencil for note taking, if you carry out most of your research in a digital environment, you also can take your notes digitally. Online note taking allows you to take notes and highlight key pieces of text. Some of the library databases, like ebrary, also provide this service. Keep in mind that you will need to set up an account within the databases to enable these functions.

Numerous online note-taking apps also are available for download to your computer or mobile devices. These apps raise traditional note taking to a whole new level, as they allow you to digitally capture any thoughts and ideas you have while reviewing the research you’ve collected. Some of these apps help get your thoughts down quickly, and others sync with online services that organize your notes for you. Additionally, many apps allow for the organization of these notes in formats that are meaningful to you. Some popular note-taking options are Evernote ( https://evernote.com ), Gingko (https://gingkoapp.com), iMindMap (http://thinkbuzan .com/products/mindmap/), and OneNote (www.onenote.com/).

No matter what note-taking strategy or tool you choose, it’s important to find one that works best for you. Taking notes on information provides you with the opportunity to think, reflect, and understand it. Another benefit of note taking is that it may ultimately help your recall of the information (Bui, Myerson, & Hale, 2013). Additionally, it can aid in the organization of your citations so that you do not end up committing plagiarism.

Depending on the situation, you may discover that you need to use multiple methods of note taking. For example, you may find typing out your notes works best for your academic needs, but that paper and pencil notes work well in your personal life. Finding a system that works for you is the ultimate goal, so spend time exploring different methods of note taking until you find one that most effectively meets your needs.

As we end this module, we leave Irwin to gather information from the resources he collected in the Library by scanning and skimming and taking notes. He’s updated his KWHL chart to include the resources he found in the Library (Table 2.3). In Module 3, we will rejoin him as he begins collecting more resources for his paper on the Internet.

Table 2.3: Irwin’s updated KWHL chart

What do I know?

What do I want to know?

How do I find out?

What have I learned?

Social networking has been around for at least 10 years.

It’s useful for staying in touch with friends and family.

It helps me keep up with groups and organizations I’m interested in.

Some of the gaming systems I use have social networks built in.

How do others use social networking?

Has it been around for longer than 10 years?

Does it impact my life the same way as it does others in society?

What are popular social networking tools?

Has social networking evolved with society?

What are popular social networking tools in the workplace?

How are companies using social networks to enhance their organizations?

Background

research: Wikipedia & Google

Internet sources: websites, blogs, podcasts

SNs have been around since the late 1800s.

Currently, many SNs exist for a wide range of purposes.

Section 2.5 Knowledge Check Quiz

1. To find references to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in an article about New York City, you should __________ the article.

A. scan

B. skim

C. memorize

2. __________ helps you retain and reflect upon your reading material.

A. Skimming

B. Scanning

C. Taking notes

Answers: 1 (A), 2 (C)

2.5 How Can I Gather Information Effectively?

Summary & Resources

Key Concepts

· Public libraries are available in most communities and accessible by everyone. Academic libraries are affiliated with schools and are intended to serve students and faculty.

· Digital libraries do not have physical books; all resources have been digitized and are stored in online databases. The Library is a digital library. There are many advantages to using a digital library, but there as some challenges as well.

· All libraries have a system for organizing and accessing their collections. These days, nearly all libraries have digital catalogs, which include online public access catalogs (OPAC) and databases. The Internet provides another way to access information.

· The librarians are here to help you conduct research for your assignments. You can reach them via phone, email, or chat. The librarians also maintain a knowledge base of QuickAnswers to frequently asked questions. QuickAn swers are available 24/7. The library also offers tutorials and research guides to help you with your research.

· Searching for information in the Library usually begins by selecting the appropriate database. From there, you can find information by searching for particular keywords, author names, titles, or subjects. Using Boolean operators will help you refine your search.

· Scanning and skimming are techniques that will enable you to quickly determine whether the information you’ve gathered through your searches will be relevant to your research.

· Online note taking can help you organize information after you’ve skimmed or

Summary & Resources

scanned it to determine its relevancy.

Key Terms

browsers Software programs that access, read, and display information from the Internet. Browsers communicate with a web page and display its information in a clear visual presentation.

cookies Stored information about you on a website’s server, such as details about what you clicked on and any preferences you may have saved.

database A digital collection of stored information that has been organized, often by several criteria, such as author, title, and subject.

interlibrary loan A service that provides access to resources from other libraries.

Internet An interconnected network of computers all over the world. These networked computers have compatible communication standards, so they can share information with one another.

keyword searching A technique that allows you to construct a search by looking for an exact word or combination of words contained in the author, title, or subject fields in the library databases.

online public access catalog (OPAC) A digital record that contains all of the physical items located within a library, searchable by title, author, subject, keyword, and more. It is often abbreviated as catalog.

reference librarians Specially trained individuals who provide instruction on how to use the library and offer tips for conducting research.

Putting It All Together

Module 2 Quiz

research guide An organized collection of resources to aid in the research of a specific topic or subject. These tools are often also referred to as pathfinders, or research guides, and can be used as a starting point when you’re beginning a research paper or project.

search engine A system used to access information online. A search engine helps you navigate the Internet.

truncation A search technique that places a special symbol at the end of a word to retrieve all possible endings of that word.

tutorial A type of instruction designed to help increase your knowledge on a specific subject. Tutorials can be very helpful when you need only basic information to get you started.