Lesson #7 | The Citizen’s Guide to Research
The hero’s quest, part I
I’ve read two books recently that both happened to allude to the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece. Are you familiar with this tale? It’s an old Greek myth about Jason, son of King Aeson of Iolcos. Jason and the Argonauts (sailors aboard the Argo) go in search of fleece from a golden-haired, winged ram. The journey is difficult, and Jason obtains the mythical material. (Par for the course in Greek mythology, additional tragedy occurs.)
This tale has become an allegory for a quest that involves a difficult search. Have you noticed that many myths and fairytales are about searching for something?
Are you ready to embark on your hero’s quest?
For the next two lessons, we’re going to delve into one of my absolute favorite topics: searching and finding research.
Back in Lesson 3, we talked about access, but we’re taking that to the next level. I’ve structured this series so that each lesson builds upon the previous. So, by now, you’ve learned:
- How to look for sources;
- How to determine if a source is credible;
- How a research article is structured;
- How research topics are determined;
- How research can be accessed;
- How research is funded;
- What research ethics are (and why they’re important.)
With this knowledge, I think you’re ready to start being a savvier hunter, and learn how to navigate through actual research databases. I’ve found that introductory research courses tend to start with this topic, rather than build up to it. However, my philosophy is that it’s more important to be a critical reader of research than an expert finder of it.
This topic is broken up into two parts: finding research using digital tools, and finding research using analog tools. Today we’re discussing effective search strategies for search engines and library databases.
Using search engines effectively
So much of our lives are connected to the web, and I truly deeply believe that knowing how to use a search engine efficiently is a vital skill. (I even used two adverbs in a row just now; my former editors are shaking their heads in shame.)
Essentially, a search engine is a web-based aggregator of content and information. Input a search term, or “keyword,” and it will give you results based on that keyword. Google is the big one, but it’s certainly not the only one. Regardless, they all work more or less the same. Keep in mind that there are algorithms at play that do affect what appears in search results (such as paid ads).
Tips for using search engines:
- Be as specific as possible. You can always get more general if you’re not getting desired results, but it pays off to be very specific in your search request. For instance, if you’re looking for information about red wine made in Rome, start with that rather than just plugging in “Italian wine.”
- Be mindful of spelling. Search engines are smart, but if your input isn’t correct, it can only give you what you ask for. I can’t tell you how often I used to help people at the university library who were upset they couldn’t find what they were looking for — because their keyword was misspelled. It happens!
- Use filtering or advanced search tools. This helps to further refine your results, especially for topics that yield hundreds or thousands of results. Every search engine offers the ability to filter your results by time or relevancy. On Google, you can select “tools” to bring up these options:
Google Scholar
If you want to use Google to access published research, you can use Google Scholar, which is a mix of Google and a traditional research database. This is a great way to narrow your search to research publications, but keep in mind that not all of the content found on it has been peer reviewed. You should still apply all of the same credibility standards on the articles you find here.
Using a library database
A library database is an archive of information — research journals, newspapers, photographs, audio/video, and more. Popular library databases include:
Libraries pay to have access to these databases, which means that you, too, can access the information in them. University libraries tend to have access to more databases.
Try visiting one of these databases. You’ll see their main homepage, and a search bar. You can certainly start there, but I recommend instead clicking “Advanced Search.” On WorldCat, this takes you a page with this:
The more you can fill out here, the better. It’s OK if you don’t have all the pieces yet.
KEYWORDS
You can use a keyword field to start searching for your topic. The keywords are just the variables that the database uses to find you results. You can try various keywords. For instance, I may try “Cassinasco Italy” to start — maybe there’s a popular book about the location that will appear first — and then refine my search further by dates.
You can use multiple keywords by separating them by commas.
BOOLEAN TERMS
This term refers to the words: AND, NOT, and OR.
If you use the word AND to link two search terms — for example, Cassinasco and 1850 — your search results will only include results about both Cassinasco and 1850. Using OR means that the results will include one or both of the terms; your results may be about Cassinasco, or about Northern Italy, or about both. If you use OR, you’ll want to use comparable terms. For example, Cassinasco and 1850 don’t work with this, because you may get results about 1850 that are unrelated to Cassinasco.
Using NOT means that the search engine will only find results for the first term. You can use this to specify your results even further.
You can use these all in conjunction, along with parenthesis, which will designate what is searched first. For instance, I may search:
(Cassinasco Italy) AND 1800s AND daily life
Remember that your goal is to find research that directly pertains to the topic you’re searching for. While it may seem like a good thing to get thousands of results, it means that you have much more to wade through. Instead, focus on getting fewer results that are more specific. You want quality over quantity.
Part 1:
Go to Google Scholar and search for an article on a topic you like. How many results come up from your first search? How can you refine it further to get fewer results?
Part 2:
Visit WorldCat or another one of the databases listed above. Try searching for the same topic. Do you see similar results? What can you do to refine your search?
