Another Research Visual

"In today's digital world, information expressed and communicated across new media now pervades what was our text dominated world. As digital arts converges with digital information, it offers a wide of range new opportunities for bringing expression and creativity to the information world, be it in designing virtual information environments or interactive media" (http://sils.pratt.edu/dai.html). I used Google as the search engine when researching this visual. I located it on Pratt's website, which is another School of Information and Library Science. The image showcases the transformation of our society that used primary text-centerted information, to now media-centered information. Podcasts, RSS feeds, YouTube, online newspapers, etc. are becoming the convienient way of transmitting information.

http://sils.pratt.edu/dai.html

Internet - Competency 10

I used Google as the search engine to help locate a webpage covering "online search strategies." There were several good webpages providing information about online search strategies, however, I found Teacher Tap to be the most beneficial for teaching online search strategies in a secondary school setting. Teacher Tap provides lesson plans for teachers or librarians to use when teaching students how to (1) locate images, (2) select the right resource, (3) identify keywords, synonyms, and key phrases, (4) creating an effective search statement, (5) using Boolean operators, (6) online search techniques, (7) understanding URL's, (8) searching specialized databases, etc. For each concept a lesson is provided with detailed procedures. The page also provides links to many of the popular search engines help menus. A table illustrating Boolean operators, as well as proximity operators is provided for students to refer to for help. Interactive online tutorials about search strategies are also offered.

Visit Teacher Tap using the following link:
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic74.htm

Research Visual

This is an awesome visual representing forms of communication. Recently, I was reading the article "The Human-Computer Interface: and Information Literacy: Some Basics and Beyond" by Gary M. Church. There is a section titled, "Some Communication Basics" which defines what communication means. Church states that "communication is an attempt to create common meaning or understanding between sender and receiver of a message" (Church, G. 1999). This visual represents how communication occurs in literacy, education, society, and culture. Isn't it amazing how diverse communication can be?

http://nadia5307163.wordpress.com/semester-1-outcomes/poster-1/

Specific Facet First Strategy on WorldCat

I started by quick searching with a few different queries to see which set of keywords would produce the fewest hits. I began with the query (child protection) and received 18,230 hits. The second query was (protecting children) and I received 3,684 hits. The third query was (internet protection) and I reeived 19,511 hits. The fourth query was (children's internet protection) and I received only 274 hits. I was happy that I was able to narrow the search down to 274, however, when I started looking a the hits more closely, they covered a wide range of internet safety issues. I needed to focus my search on filtering, so I used Boolean logic to add to the quesry. The fifth search I used was (children's internet protection) AND (filtering). I received only 3 hits with that strategy. Of the three hits, one was an E-book titled "Youth Pornography and the Internet" which was a great source to add to my bibliography for the issues paper I am writing. The Specific Facet First strategy was a good way to immediatly focus my search. It took a little time to determine which area of my query would produce the fewest hits, so I had somewhere to beigin, but overall this strategy saved me time. I didn't have to sift through hundrends of sources to find only a few that were pertinent for what I needed.

Citation Pearl Growing Search on ERIC

I am writing an Issues Analysis paper for another class I am currently enrolled in. I decided to use this opportunity to apply the Citation Pearl Growing strategy to help me find articles for my paper. I started my search by using the keywords: protecting children AND intellectual freedom. I received only one hit. The hit I retrieved was exactly the kind of article I was needing to write my paper on the debate surrounding the Children's Internet Protection Act and intellectual freedom. I chose to click on the "related items" link provided with the article, "Internet Safety or the Four Fs--Fouled in a Feud between Filtering and Free Speech" because I wanted more articles like it. By clicking the related items link I received 611,945 hits. I then applied the full-text only limiter and narrowed the hits down to 271,919hits. Next, I went under advanced search, and limited my search even further to journal articles in full-text published from 2008. That search strategy retrieved 16,631 hits.
The Citation Pearl Growing Strategy was a wonderful way to retrieve sources. It takes time in the beginning, like any search stratgey, to find hits that are pertinent to your topic. But once you find just one hit, you have access to more hits just like it by applying the "related items" link in the database. This has been the most helpful strategy so far.

Books in Print Competency

Books in Print is the industry's largest web based bibliographic resource for professionsals. It has over 5 million books, audio books, and video. For my search I used intellectual freedom AND school libraries as my query. I received 57 hits with this search. Some of the sources I got hits on were e-books, trade papers, trade cloth,library binding etc..

Library Lit Competency

Library Literature is a database for librarians or library professionals. In this database I used the keywords: teenage or high school AND research or search AND skills or techniques. For the initial search I applied the full-text only limiter and received 115 hits. On the second search I limmited the search to full-text only and publications from 2005 to 2010. I received 42 hits with the second search.

Module 4 Competency: Lexis Search

"Through the integration of information and technology, LexisNexis uniquely unites proprietary brands, advanced Web technologies and premium information sources. Across the globe, LexisNexis provides customers with access to billions of searchable documents and records from more than 45,000 legal, news and business sources" (About Us. Lexis Nexis).

Keywords: genetic engineering
Using the keywords "genetic engineering" in major US and world publications I received 999 hits in categories such as newletters, industry trade press, scientific material, newspapers, magazines and journals, news transcripts, aggregrate news sources, and news wires adn press releases. For the second search I indicated that I wanted resources coming from magazines and journals and received 29 hits.

Module 4 Competency- Academic Search Complete

Academic Search Complete is a database that offers "full-text coverage of information in many areas of academic study including, but not limited to: animal science, anthropology, area studies, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, ethnic & multicultural studies, food science & technology, general science, geography, geology, law, materials science, mathematics, mechanical engineering, music, pharmaceutical sciences, physics, psychology, religion & theology, veterinary science, women's studies, zoology and many other fields" (Ebscohost.com).

Keywords: carbohydrate or sugar AND weight loss or losing weight AND women or woman
I received 264 hits using these keywords and Boolean logic provided by the database. It did not indicate the use of any limiters on the first search. For the second search I limited the search to full-text only and still received 264 hits. For the third search I changed carbohydrate to a mispelled version (carobhydrate) and received only 78 hits.

Ebsco regarding Academic Search Complete. http://www.ebscohost.com/thisTopic.php?marketID=1&topicID=633

Building Block Research on LibLit

For the search I used:
keywords: (student or teenager) AND (research or resources) AND (skills or techniques)
I received 1099 hits.

The Building Block strategy is great to use when someone needs to search a system with a complex search query. This strategy allows the user to break their query into different facets and apply Boolean logic to help with the information retrieval process. I used to enter my entire search query into a single search banner and would come up with zero hits. Now I know how to break my query into different facets, and group keyterms together, for a better search strategy.

Successive Fraction Searching on ASC

I searched the ASC database using:
keyword searching (computer networking) AND (public schools)
full-text available search
publication dates: 1992 - 2010

I searched ASC using the Successive Fraction technique. I began my search using the keywords "computer networking" and retrieved 5,254 hits. I then performed a successive search by adding "public schools" in the second facet. This narrowed my results to 40.
This search strategy was beneficial at findig information relative to my topic. It allows the user to narrow their results down guickly, while being carefull to add facets that would cause hits to become more precise.

Image- High School Libraries

http://media-center-e.tech.worcesterschools.org


High School Libraries need to stay "hip" to pull kids into their quarters. Most kids prefer to lounge in the cafeteria before school. Wouldn't it be nice if most kids preferred the library. The image above represents the "image" I believe High School Libraries should go for. It's important to incorporate many facets of information that attracts all types of information seekers. I found this image by searching "high school library images" in Google.

As a current member in the field of education, I have first-hand experience at witnessing student work ethic on computers. Students are interested in gaming of all sorts. Electronic learning devices have been tailored around this fact. Study Island, a site that offers TAKS training in all subject areas, has intergrated a gaming device that kids can use as they answer questions. If they get an answer right, they get to play a game. When they finish with that game, they move on to the next question. Kids would much rather do school work if it incorporates games. While most students are more than comfortable playing games, using Google or Yahoo, making Facebooks, and MySpace pages, most are not skilled at searching databsaes and online journals. Schools place filters on their servers so kids cannot access YouTube or other sites that could potentially have obscene materials on them. Kids always find a way around them. At my school, there is a filter preventing us from accessing online radio stations to keep the server open. Kids can easily find their way around those as well. It seems they can do anything they want with a computer, other than proper research. I chose this cartoon because it symbolizes the digital age in a high school setting. I doubt spitballs will ever come from a computer, but the idea surrounding the image is very real!

Tagging / Indexing

While searching Library Thing, I found a book titled, "Beyond the Internet: Successful Research Strategies," by the author, Barbara A. Chernow. The reason I chose this resource is because high school students need a lot of guidence when searching for information over the internet. They are not taught a research strategy by their teachers, so if a librarian could hold a training session at the beginning of the school year, or preceeding the research assignment for a particular class, then the students will have more success in their research efforts. I believe this book would provide a new libraian with the information he/she needed to prepare a research strategy session for their school.

RSS Feed: Designing Better Libraries

The RSS Feed I chose to add to my blog is called, "Designing Better Libraries." The rationale for choosing this feed was based on the topics found on this blog site. He writes about the need to design libraries to be more user-centered, and how library databases are more difficult to use than Google. He writes about libraries needing to implement self-service areas, since most users attemp to research independently of the librarian. All of these are issues that are aiming to ultimately help the user. Anyone interested in "Designing Better Librareis," can click on the link below:

http://dbl.lishost.org/blog/categories/instructional-design-technology/

Technology Training- Podcast

The majority of students and staff at our high school lack skills that would make information retrieval easier for them in our library. Due to the varied research requirements in different sources, the complexities of technology, and the complicated systems of cataloging, students and staff alike prefer to use the Web to locate their information. This issue could be made obsolete if our library offered staff tech training and student tech training session at the beginning of the school year and throughout as needed. In the training sessions, the librarian could showcase the multiple sources of information, along with research strategies to use for each source. This would build confidence among the students and staff about the usability of the sources available there.

The following podcast stresses the role of the library in training their staff in the technology offered there, to build the skills and confidence necessary to access information using the technology located in the library. This concept can easily be used to train the staff and students in our high school.

I used the Education Podcast Network to find the podcast on the importance of tech training. The name of the podcast is, Tech Training and Competencies for Libraries. You can access this podcast by clicking the following link:

http://epnweb.org/player.php?podshow=http://www.opal-online.org/houghtonjantech20080515/houghtonjantech20080515.mp3&podcast=OPAL Podcast&program=Tech Training and Competencies for Libraries

Tailored Research

There is a great article written titled, "The Google Generation: Implications for Libraries and Librarians," in the blog: http://woodsiegirl.wordpress.com/. I used the blog search engine(http://blogsearch.google.com). With users participating in the content development of sites such as Blogs, Facebook, Wikis, etc, and easy access to information through the web, it is important that the field of library science begin to make the search for quality information as easy.

"It’s such a waste of energy to try to drag users away from their preferred ways of working. It’s important to try to work with users, and tailor the help we offer to the way they instinctively work."

http://woodsiegirl.wordpress.com

It is pertinent, especially in a high school library, to make quality information accessible through means regularly used by the students. If it is possible to reach desired information using a gaming device or a cell phone, then that needs to be attempted at the high school level.

Electronic Databases

An electronic database is a collection of data from a variety of sources, including but not limited to, published articles, government documents, newspaper items, films, and recordings. Databases are designed to make searching for specific information very simple by using a word matching process. There are databases for all areas of interest such as math, science, history, etc. Databases can be even more specific. For example, there are many areas of science. A chemist may not be interested in searching for information in a database that includes all areas of science such as genetics, microbiology, taxonomy, physics, and chemistry. Instead, it would be more efficient to search a database that only has information regarding chemistry. Such a database does exists and is called Sci Finder.

Sci Finder is a database that compiles any article published in the area of Chemistry, so that chemists can search for research tips and methods, build upon previous research and avoid the duplication of previous work. An electronic database, such as the one mentioned above, is an efficient and effective way for a user to find the information they are seeking quickly.

http://electronicdatabases.com

Rounding up Research in the High School Library

By compiling the competencies that will be completed during this course, this blog will serve as a portfolio of the knowledge and research that I acquire along the way. This blog will be a way for the students enrolled in this course to share their research in their specific area of interest and at the same time learn about other areas of Library Science through each others posts . I am pursuing a career as a high school librarian with a specific interest in helping the faculty and students learn the research skills to obtain "good" information. My topic area and library type will be known as "Rounding up Research in the High School Library."