Learning Objectives 1 Students will be able to
Learning Objectives 1. Students will be able to identify and implement three different strategies for when they are getting too many sources in their search results. 1. Students will be able to identify and implement three different strategies for when they are getting too few sources in their search results. 1. Students will be able to identify and implement three different strategies for when they are getting irrelevant sources in their search results.
Improving Your Search Results Sifting through search results to find the best sources can sometimes be overwhelming. Save yourself time with these strategies and to get to the sources you really want faster.
I Have Too Many Results | I Have Too Few Results | I Have Irrelevant Results | I Need More Help WHY AM I GETTING TOO MANY RESULTS? > Your topic or search terms are too board > You are researching a popular topic > You are not using the most appropriate search tool Before Image SLIDE
I Have Too Many Results | I Have Too Few Results | I Have Irrelevant Results | I Need More Help WHY AM I GETTING TOO MANY RESULTS? > Your topic or search terms are too board > You are researching a popular topic > You are not using the most appropriate search tool Narrow Your Topic Use Filters Focus on a more specific aspect of your topic: - Important person, population, or organization Use and combine different types of filters to get the most focused results. Try filtering by: - Specific issue - Date - Particular place or geographical region - Peerreviewed/scholarly/acade mic research - Time period - Availability (online/full text or in a library) - Topic or category (also known as “Subject”) Choose A Different (Rethink Your) Search Tool Different search tools may return different types of results. Learn more about Google and HOLLIS+ as search tools. The more information you know about different database searches the faster you can get your research done. After Image <>
I Have Too Many Results | I Have Too Few Results | I Have Irrelevant Results | I Need More Help WHY AM I GETTING TOO MANY RESULTS? > Your topic or search terms are too board > You are researching a popular topic > You are not using the most appropriate search tool Narrow Your Topic Use Filters Modify Your Search Tool or Terms Narrow your topic to focus on a more specific aspect: - Important person, population, or organization Use and combine different types of filters to get the most focused result. Try filtering by: - Date Different search tools may return different types of results. - Specific issue - Peerreviewed/scholarly/academic research The more information you know about different database searches the faster you can get your research done. - Particular place or geographical region - Time period - Availability (online/full text or in a library) - Topic or category (also know as “Subject”) Learn more about Google and HOLLIS+ as search tools. After Image SLIDE
I Have Too Many Results | I Have Too Few Results | I Have Irrelevant Results | I Need More Help WHY AM I GETTING TOO FEW RESULTS? > Your topic or search terms are too narrow > You are researching a very new topic (that may not have a lot of resources written on it) > You are not using the most appropriate search tool Broaden Your Topic Conduct Multiple Searches What is the broader category of your topic? - Use more general search terms instead of a specific idea Search for different aspects of your topic separately. Synthesize the information later. - Topic or category (also know as “Subject”) - Eliminate long phrases/sentences/questio ns - Remove one or two search terms to get more results Choose A Different Search Tool Different search tools may return different types of results. Learn more about Google and HOLLIS+ as search tools. The more information you know about different database searches the faster you can get your research done. After Image SLIDE
I Have Too Many Results | I Have Too Few Results | I Have Irrelevant Results | I Need More Help WHY AM I GETTING IRRELEVANT RESULTS? > You are not using language/terminology the search tool associates with the discipline you are researching > Reason 2 > Reason 3 Talk to Experts Use Advanced Search Features Ask topic specialists who are well versed in your discipline for search term suggestions: - Use only the most important words in your search terms – no need to write out a sentence or question - Librarians (Link to list of contacts for students, if possible) - Professors - Teaching Fellows - Look for your search words in the Title field only - Look up Subject Headings (Thesaurus/Index/Subject) that group similar articles/books together Take Advantage of One Good Result - Click on or search the Subject terms attached to the record of one good article/book - Use the bibliography and works cited to find additional sources - (Link to Google Scholar section of Finding Sources module for more tips) After Image SLIDE
I Have Too Many Results | I Have Too Few Results | I Have Irrelevant Results | I Need More Help HAVE QUESTIONS? Ask a Librarian VISIT SIMILAR TUTORIALS: Google & HOLLIS+ Primary Sources Questions about this site? Contact Digital Learning & UX at Harvard Library at libraryux@harvard. edu.
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