Big6 Skill 2-Information Seeking Strategies

 

Teacher:

All right, let’s get started.  Who can review for us what we did already?  Elana?

 

Elana:

We did step 1 of the Big6 research process: Task definition.  We defined the problem by reading over the assignment sheet and asking you clarify questions.  Then we identified the information we needed by brainstorming research questions.

 

Teacher:

Good.  Today we will move on to step 2 of the Big6 Research Process: Information Seeking Strategies.  What does that mean?

 

Paul:

It means we have to figure out where we are going to go to answer those research questions.

 

Teacher:

Perfect!  What is the first part to accomplishing that?

 

Elana:

Determine the range of possible sources, which means we should list out where we could go to find the answers.

 

Teacher:

Yes.  I’ve asked a special guest to join us today to help us plan out our Information Seeking strategies.  Many of you already know our librarian, Mrs. L.

 

Ronald:

Well that sort of gives it away—I guess we are supposed to go to the library to get the answers.

 

Librarian:

Well, most of the time when you have an information problem, or a research project you can find the answers in the library, but today we need to figure our what in the library you should be using.

 

Ronald:

I always use the computers.

 

Librarian:

What source on the computer?

 

Ronald:

What do you mean?  I just use the computer.

 

Librarian:

There are several resources in our library that can be accessed through the computer, but I suppose you are referring to the Internet.  The Internet is indeed one way you can find answers for this project.  Let’s start a list.  What other resources of information are on the computers?

 

Paul:

I use the online catalog to find books and I use the online subscription databases to find magazines and newspapers.

 

Elana:

I use the computer to access the CD-ROMs like National Geographic and Encarta.

 

Librarian:

Excellent, excellent.  We have the World Wide Web, books, magazines and newspapers and CD-ROMs all accessible through the computer.  And do you know how to access them?

 

Paul:

What?

 

Librarian:

Say you wanted to use the Internet to find some information, how would you do that?

 

Paul:

You have to use a search engine like Alta Vista

 

Elana:

Or there are directories too, like the Internet Public library.

 

Librarian:

I’m very impressed.  What is the difference?

 

Elana:

A search engine allows you to search for a word or phrase.

 

Librarian:

Yes that is called a keyword search.  And a directory?

 

Elana:

A directory let’s you browse through websites on specific subjects.

 

Paul:

Like Yahoo!

 

Librarian:

Excellent!

 

Ronald:

Like Netscape!

 

Librarian:

No, Ronald, Netscape is a browser not a method of searching.  A browser is important in that it lets you access the Internet, but directories like Yahoo let you search.

 

Ronald:

Oh yeah, I new that, I meant to say Dogpile.

 

Librarian:

Yes, Dogpile is actually a special search engine called a meta-searcher.  It allows you to search through several search engines or directories at one time.  For this lesson, let’s focus on searching by keyword.  Most computer accessible resources, like the Internet, CD-ROMs, or the library catalog can be searched by keyword.  And those keywords are very important.  Let me show you. (Shown on computer screen)  If I use the search engine Google and type in one word Isreal, I get 56,000 hits as you can see here.  A hit is a webpage that has your word in it somewhere.  

 

Elana:

But, uh, Israel is spelled wrong.

 

Teacher:

Ah ha!  I was wondering if one of you would notice that.  Very good, Elana.  Now let’s look at the results.  It is always important to evaluate your results to decide if they include accurate, helpful information. If they don’t, we call that a false hit. So since I found 56,000 hits that all have Israel spelled incorrectly, what could you deduce from this?

 

Paul:

Well that should be a sign that maybe the information you found isn’t too reliable.

 

Teacher:

I should think not!  Let’s try the search again spelling the keyword correctly.  (SHOW ON COMPUTER)  All right, this time I got almost 7 million amount of hits. Who wants to read through 7 million hits to find your information?

 

Ronald:

Not me!

 

Teacher:

Now if you type in a phrase like “Israeli Palestinian crisis” you get 5,000 hits.  That’s better, but still a lot of hits.

 

Elana:

It is really important to choose your word or phrase very carefully and be very specific. 

 

Librarian:

Yes, especially when you are searching through a very large set of resources, like the Internet.  Let me show you another searching tip called Boolean searching.  Boolean searching is when you combine two words or phrases to be even more specific.  Paul, what is your perspective for this assignment?

 

Paul:

I’m a Palestinian Activist!

 

Librarian:

Okay and what is one of your research questions? 

 

Paul:

I need to find out what my religious beliefs are.

 

Librarian:

Okay.  We can do a Boolean search and combine those phrases (Palestinian Activist AND religious beliefs) and as you can see we get only 5 hits.  Boolean searching is an excellent technique to use to narrow down those overwhelming searches.

 

Teacher:

Notice that those keywords come directly from your research questions that we developed as we worked through the Big6 step #1. 

 

Librarian:

Yes, exactly, I can’t stress how important it is that you define your task and figure out what information you need BEFORE you start seeking the actual information.

 

Ronald:

Well, duh!

 

Librarian:

Well, Ronald, you say that, but I seem to remember you spending quite a bit of time surfing aimlessly on the web when you hadn’t taken the time to define your task when you were working on your last English paper. (Ronald looks sheepish).  Okay, now that you got the idea of how important your search strategy can be, let’s get back to our list of possible sources.  What else can we use?

 

Paul:

We will need to use atlases.

 

Librarian:

Good, an atlas is a reference book.  Let’s add it to the list.  What else? (Silence)  The resource that I always think is the best is always forgotten.  Say you weren’t doing a research project…

 

Ronald:

Now you’re talking!

 

Librarian:

…And you saw something on the news at home about the Middle East and you wanted to find out more what would you do?

 

Paul:

Ask my dad.

 

Librarian:

Exactly!  People are excellent information sources.

 

Ronald:

I don’t think my dad knows anything about the Middle East.

 

Elana:

I have a neighbor who is from the Middle East!

 

Librarian:

There you go.  We’ll add interview to the list of possible resources.

 

Teacher:

Remember when we did that unit on oral history?  Why don’t you refer to your notes on being a good interviewer as a start? 

 

Librarian:

Let’s move on to the second part of information seeking strategies.  We need to evaluate the different possible sources to determine priorities.  What does that mean?

 

Elana:

We need to figure out which ones will be best so we know what to do first.

 

Librarian:

So thinking about the questions you need to answer which do you think will be the best sources to start with.

 

Paul:

Well, I’d like to start by finding out some background information so maybe I’ll search our encyclopedias.

 

Librarian:

Very good.  That’s an excellent place to start as it helps you determine your keywords.

 

 

Ronald:

Well, I’m still going to surf the web!

 

Librarian:

Why is that your first priority?

 

Ronald:

Because I know that you have created a link from the library home page that lists a lot of web pages about the Middle East!

 

Librarian:

Ronald, sometimes you surprise me!  Excellent.

 

Teacher:

All right, you’ve accomplished a lot today.  We’ve listed some of the possible resources you can use to answer your research questions and you’ve decided which will be the most helpful to you.  Remember that as you make progress, your research questions my change and then you’ll need to revisit this step.  But I’m very impressed with your progress right now.  Tomorrow we’ll meet in the library.