Effective Search Strategies Overview

Search Strategies: An Overview

• A search strategy is a planned approach to finding relevant information.
• It involves formulating research questions, identifying keywords, and using search tools effectively.
• Effective search strategies save time and effort while helping locate accurate and relevant information.

Formulating Research Questions

• Clearly define the objective of your research.
• Break down broad research topics into specific, manageable questions.

Types of Research Questions

• Descriptive: Explore what is happening (e.g., What are the effects of social media on teenagers?)
• Comparative: Compare two or more things (e.g., How does social media usage differ between teenagers and adults?)
• Causal: Investigate why something happens (e.g., What causes teenagers to spend more time on social media?)

Communicating with Clients

• Effective communication is crucial for providing efficient reference services.
• Reference staff must be able to:
  • Determine the appropriate level of communication for each client.
  • Conduct interviews to identify client needs.
  • Explain procedures for accessing information.
  • Present information in a format accessible to the client.
  • Seek feedback on the appropriateness of provided information.
  • Demonstrate strong customer service skills.

Reference Interview

• A reference interview is a conversation between a librarian and a reader to refine or clarify a research query.

• The purpose of a reference interview is to:

  • Determine client information needs.
  • Help clients locate needed information efficiently.
  • Assess client library skills.
  • Introduce library resources and services.

• Reference staff may need to ask clarifying questions to understand the client's exact needs.

Steps in Reference Interview

1. Identify the client's information requirements.
   • Clients may provide clear explanations or indirect clues.
2. Ask the client to clarify the topic.
   • This prevents misunderstandings and ensures clarity.
3. Rephrase or summarize the client's question for confirmation.
4. Determine what the client already knows and what sources have been consulted.
   • Understanding the client's knowledge base and previous efforts helps adjust the search strategy.
   • Be tactful when asking about the client's reasons for seeking information, as it might be sensitive.
5. Develop a search strategy based on the acquired information.
   • An effective search strategy helps locate the required information quickly and efficiently.

Identifying Keywords and Phrases

• Keywords are the main words or phrases representing the core concepts of your research question.
• Include synonyms and related terms to broaden the search.

Steps to Identify Keywords

1. Write down your research question.
2. Highlight the main concepts within the question.
3. List synonyms and related terms for each identified concept.

Example of Keyword Identification

• Research Question: What are the effects of social media on teenagers?
• Keywords: effects, social media, teenagers
• Synonyms/Related Terms: impact, social networking, adolescents

Using Boolean Operators

• Boolean operators are logical connectors used to refine search results by combining or excluding keywords.

Types of Boolean Operators

• AND: Narrows the search by requiring both specified terms (e.g., "social media AND teenagers")
• OR: Broadens the search by including either of the specified terms (e.g., "teenagers OR adolescents")
• NOT: Excludes a term from the search (e.g., "social media NOT Facebook")

Example of Using Boolean Operators

• "effects AND social media AND (teenagers OR adolescents) NOT Facebook"

This search combines keywords, ensuring results include information about the effects of social media on teenagers or adolescents, but excludes content solely related to Facebook.

Advanced Search Techniques

• Phrase Searching: Use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase (e.g., "social media effects").
• Truncation: Use an asterisk (*) to retrieve multiple forms of a word (e.g., "teen" will find "teen", "teens", and "teenagers").
• Wildcards: Use a question mark (?) to replace a single character in a word (e.g., "wom?n" will find ''woman'' and ''women'').

Using Controlled Vocabulary

• Controlled vocabularies are pre-defined systems that organize knowledge for retrieval.
• These systems use preferred terms and relationships between terms to enhance search accuracy.

Key Characteristics of Controlled Vocabulary Systems

• Standardization: Each concept is represented by a single preferred term, with synonyms linked to it.
• Scope Notes: Definitions or explanations are provided for each term to clarify its usage.
• Hierarchical Relationships: Terms are organized by relationships, such as broader or narrower categories, for improved contextual understanding.

Types of Controlled Vocabulary

• Subject Headings: Lists of terms primarily used in library catalogs and databases.
  • Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Widely used for categorizing library resources.
  • Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): Used for indexing medical literature.
  • Sears List of Subject Headings: A standard and popular subject cataloguing tool for smaller libraries.
• Thesauri: Provide a more detailed structure than subject headings, including relationships between terms (e.g., broader, narrower, related terms).
• Taxonomies: Hierarchical classifications that organize concepts into categories and subcategories, commonly used in fields like biology and information science.

Importance of Controlled Vocabulary Tools

• Controlled vocabularies enhance information retrieval by:
  • Increasing Precision: Standardized terms reduce irrelevant search results caused by ambiguity.
  • Improving Recall: Finding all relevant documents by using standardized terms.
  • Facilitating Search Efficiency: Providing a clear structure for selecting search terms.