Page 1

Getting Started OR Now what do I do?

Using Google and the Library InfoGuides

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Brainstorming a Topic: Looking for Ideas

• Think about a topic that interests you.

• Consider the following idea-starters:

– My friends and I like to argue about…

– Someone believes …; however, I believe …

– I think we should pass a law so that …

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Getting Started

• Google

• Wikipedia?

• Library Resources - InfoGuides

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GooglePros ConsExtensive search results Search results can be

overwhelming

Starting point for background information

Results filled with non-relevant items despite refining

Retrieve websites by scholars, experts

Retrieve websites by non-experts - Scholarship varies

Become familiar with topic NOT everything is available through Google

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WikipediaPros ConsAnyone can edit ANYONE can edit!

Possible starting point for unfamiliar topic

Information can change on daily basis - Superficial level of scholarship

Mine for search terms Inaccuracies (truthiness)

Covers a wide range of topics Wikilobbying (companies, politicians, etc. skew facts)

Some articles list bibliographies or references

Quality of articles inconsistent or biased

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Benefits of Google Searching

• Become more familiar with a topic

• Pick out search terms that can be used for

library searching

• Find bibliographies

• Google Scholar, Google Books…

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Searching Google More Effectively

• Limit your results by producer or organization: site: .org .edu .gov

• Refine search options

• Find recent websites - “climate change” 2008..2010

• Synonyms - ~film→ movies, movie, cinema

• Advanced search link

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Smarter Googling

Focus a Google search:

• site: -- limits results to certain sites or domains– american history / american history site:loc.gov – libertarian / libertarian site:edu

• intitle: -- limits results to pages with search terms in the page title– rosa parks king / intitle:"rosa parks" intitle:king– douglass abolition / intitle:douglass intitle:abolition

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Smarter Googling

Build from good results:

• link: -- discover what other sites link to a site– historymatters.gmu.edu– link:historymatters.gmu.edu

• related: -- discover other similar sites– related:loc.gov– related:snopes.com

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Googling continued→ Limitations• Quotation marks can be used around phrases

– “climate change” – but they might eliminate useful results if too specific

• barack hussein obama vs. “barack hussein obama”• Databases often DO require quotes around phrases.

• Synonyms ~ work well with one-word searches BUT not with phrase searching like “climate change”– Many databases will retrieve similar terms like global warming,

greenhouse effect…

• Other limitations…

• For more tips, see: http://bit.ly/moregoogle

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Limitations

Limitations of Google as a research tool

• Google’s index doesn’t include everything that is

online. (e.g., licensed resources)

• Searches often have overwhelming numbers of

results. Databases usually more focused.

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Limitations

Realities of the Web

• Most info on the Web is not scholarly

• Web is constantly in flux, being edited and

indexed; inaccurate to think of Google info as a

static “snapshot” of the Web

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Google Instant

• Released Sept. 8, 2010

• Revises results as you type

• More info:

– Introducing Google Instant (YouTube)

– Could Reinvent Channel Flipping (wired.com)

– Is this the best they could come up with? (

telegraph.co.uk)

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Google Scholar

• Google’s index of scholarly literature

• Set Google preferences to get Mason resources

(“Find it@GM”)

• Google Scholar is one way to access resources,

not the way.

• Is the “cited by” information useful?

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Google Books

• Useful in conjunction with library catalog (linked

from catalog record)

• May include book summaries, reviews, table of

contents, selected pages, etc.

• Links to purchase options BUT the library can

often provide it for free.

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Can you find…

Authoritative information about the

species of bird called the Baltimore oriole

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Can you find…

Authoritative information about the

species of bird called the Baltimore oriole

• Baltimore oriole –baseball• Baltimore oriole birds –baseball• Baltimore oriole +habitat• Baltimore oriole +plumage etc.

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Can you find…

Reputable academic discussions

(essays, articles, etc.) about Lady Gaga

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Can you find…

Reputable academic discussions

(essays, articles, etc.) about Lady Gaga

• "lady gaga" site:edu• link:ladygaga.com site:edu

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Can you find…

Information about George Mason

(the man); limited to only .edu or .org

sites, not .com sites

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Can you find…

Information about George Mason (the

man); limited to only using .edu or .org

sites, not .com sites • george mason site:edu site:org• (“george mason” site:edu) OR (“george mason” site:org)

• “george mason” site:edu|site:org

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Can you find…

You’re building a model of an 18th-

century sailing ship. What is the

fore topmast studding sail

and where does it go?

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Can you find…

You’re building a model of an 18th-

century sailing ship. What is the

fore topmast studding sail

and where does it go?

• sailboat diagram

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Connecting Your Search Terms

Google & Research Databases offer this type of searching. Databases may present this option in differently.

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In-class Activity• Directions:

– Pre-selected search terms will be written on small pieces of paper

– Students will be divided into groups

– Each group will search Google using the chosen search terms

– Students will be instructed to share their findings with the class and note the following items:

• Number of search results/hits• Scholarly resources (e.g. resources written by subject experts)• Resources not appropriate for academic research• Other useful information for researching topic (e.g. bibliographies, links,

additional search terms)

– Students will take notes on the handout given to them by the librarians

– Primary objective is to get students to start evaluating search results and judging the appropriateness for academic research.

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In-class Activity• Selected Search Terms:

– Human computer interaction

– Video games and violence

– Climate change and public health

– Cancer and diet

– Elder abuse

– Sports injury and prevention

– Impressionism and art

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Library Websitehttp://library.gmu.edu

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Library InfoGuidesPros ConsResources selected by librarians Not all resources full text

Created for specific academic subjects & classes / Resources organized by subject

May not always know the correct word/phrase to use

Link to library catalogs & databases

Resources→ Not as many as Google or Wikipedia

Access to resources NOT available in Google/Wikipedia

Not every resource every published

Scholarly resources from various time periods

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InfoGuides• Starting point for ideas

• By subject/discipline

• Reliable sources evaluated by librarians

• Variety of sources: books, articles, images, DVDs,

primary sources

• Resources you only have access while students

at Mason

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Other Library Resources• Ask-a-Librarian

• Library Catalog to locate book, e-books, DVDs, government documents

• Research Databases– Articles (some fulltext)– Video clips– Images– Etc.

• Research Databases by Subject

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Library Assignment #2Purpose of this assignment: Start thinking about your

information sources and their appropriateness for academic research.

Imagine that you are writing a research paper on a historical figure from your readings (examples: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks). Then answer the following question in 200-250 words.

Search Google for information on your figure. Look at the first page of your Google results. What did you find? Are they academic sites? Commercial, etc.? Would these sources be helpful in writing a scholarly, academic research paper? Why or why not?