Search+Strategies


 * Search Strategies **

__**Using Google for Research **__**: 4 great tips: Google Help; Advanced Search; How Google Works; Evaluate your results. **

**//__ Quick tips __//** : 1. use quotes to search words together (i.e. “Mercury Seven Astronauts”) 2. use “ and ” to ensure all words you search will appear in your results (i.e. “Beethoven and Napoleon” will find only articles discussing __both__ of these men) 3. use “ or ” to increase search results (i.e. “doctors or physicians”) 4. use “ not ” to eliminate unwanted search results (i.e. “Eagles not Philadelphia”) 5. “ narrow ” your topic if you find too much information (i.e. “American Fashion” can be narrowed to “American Fashion in the 1950’s” or “American Fashion in the 13 colonies” or “American Fashion and the middle class”) 6. “ broaden ” your topic if you’re having trouble finding enough information (i.e. “Cuban Missile Crisis” can be broadened to “Cold War” or “John F. Kennedy”) 7. Use " synonyms " for additional keywords for your topic (i.e. steroids = "doping," "performance enhancing drugs," or "hormonal regulation"

//__ Tip __//**: Look for the “** Advanced Search **” or "** Filter **" features of databases and search engines in order to generate a more specific search (limits the search by date, language, author, type of resource, etc.)**



Wikipedia – cannot be used as a reliable source but does have value: - check “References” or “Works Cited” or “External Sources” at bottom of page for other source ideas - can provide a nice overview of a topic and then can verify information with another, more reputable/reliable source - can provide keywords/search terms on your topic

Pearl Diving …..WHAT?
 * - when you find the best article in the history of man **on your topic exploit it (research the author, check its “works cited,” look closely at other authors/articles cited within it, look for additional keywords in the article)

Think outside the box when researching : - historical societies - museums - presidential libraries - interviews - lectures - dissertations - press releases - scholarly blogs or tweets **GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR RESOURCES**
 * - in addition to ** books, databases and the Internet, try…

- Animoto - Movie Maker - Digital Timeline - Wiki - Glog - Voicethread - Google Earth - Museum Boxes - Prezi
 * Use technology to creatively present your research findings ** :