In this interactive online workshop, you will learn strategies for generating research questions and turning those questions into keywords. Coming up with keywords will help you craft more effective searches!By the end of this workshop, you'll be able to:Develop specific research questions from a topicTurn questions into keywordsConstruct a preliminary search for your specific research questionThe workshop includes interactive videos and self-assessment questions.

The information literacy in class assignment was introduced to Sophomores and Juniors in STEM during a math class. Concepts such as types of information sources and critical evaluation of information sources were introduced.  The remainder of time is devoted to a group assignment on evaluating information sources both on the Web in comparison to the information resource.Students worked in groups to complete the assignment which was handed out on paper.  The first part explained again criteria for evaluating information sources while the second part gave 3 example sources from a Wikipedia article.  Students were asked to identify the type of information source (scholarly journal, news, book, website) and the authors with their credentials.  Then the students were asked to infer the intended audience for the information source and the usefulness of the information for their coursework later in the semester.  Finally, the students were asked to located an item in the library’s discovery search interface that was of high quality in the characteristics they had explored.

This usability study explores whether patrons prefer and are well-served by specialized, format-based searches or simpler, single-box searches, and the implications of these practices and preferences for information literacy. Qualitative data suggest that format-specific searches can confuse and slow down users and single-box searches are often faster and more successful. These findings highlight the potential conflict between user experience (UX) design and traditional conceptualizations of research and library-based search.

An update from a previous version.

editable PPT on general research process and different types of information sources. Prepared for Writing 200 class.

The presentation covers two sessions presentation of a business consulting session, including editable graphs for research process.

Help students develop strategies to find quality articles.

Learning activity to guide students in Political Science 101 through locating scholarly sources for an annotated bibliography.

The goal of this in-class activity is to help students relate database searching to something they already have familiarity with. This is interdisciplinary and could be adapted for any subject or database. Students will explore a timely topic on Twitter using a hashtag and note bias, tone, authority, and related hashtags before conducting a similar search on a library database or discovery tool. Students and instructors then discuss similarities and differences between both searches and their results. 

A graphic guide on country research focused on strategies in searching Business Source Complete to find various kinds of country reports in the database and also some other public resources.Three pages allow you to print at bookmark size with the landscape layout.