Research from Home
Search Catalog |
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Great books and suggestions for children’s fiction and nonfiction reading, selected by school media specialists and librarians. |
Students can browse topics of interest or search for a topic of their choice. Search results can be limited to source type (e.g. magazines, news, biographies etc.) or by Lexile |
Easy-to-read encyclopedic entries and a vast image collection. Students can learn about a variety of topics, including endangered species famous musicians , fitness and space exploration. |
Search Strategies
Before you start searching, it is best if you can define your information need. If you know what you are looking for, you will be better able to recognize it when you’ve found your answer. Also, defining your information need helps you know where to start looking. It is possible to find information more effectively and efficiently by using search strategies. Search strategies usually involve:
Modifying keywords
When modifying keywords, consider using:
-phrase searching (where you need to find the words together, e.g. “stress management”)
-synonyms (use a thesaurus to swap words with same or similar meaning)
-truncation (searching for different word endings, e.g. laughter, laughing)
Combining keywords
Keyword are combined using: AND, OR and NOT.
For example: (laughter OR humor) AND stress
AND, OR and NOT are known as Boolean operators. Knowing when and how to use Boolean operators effectively can greatly improve search results.
Limiting search results
There may be other elements that need to be considered in a search.
For example: Is it important to find information published within a specific time frame?
Investigate the options for limiting search results in the information sources that you are using (e.g. Library Catalog, database or search engine.