Information Literacy Guide | Locating Information | Electronic Searching Resources | Site Outline

 

Locating Information: Electronic Searching
  1. Dewey Decimal System
  2. Using the Online Catalog
  3. Reference Tools
  4. Electronic Searching

To find information in the library requires understanding how the library is organized. It is very logical and requires only that you know your alphabet, you know how to count, AND (here is the hard one) you know what you are looking for.

What should I do first?

Before beginning an electronic search (the web or a database), spend some time thinking about your topic. If necessary, get some background information by reading about it in a print or multimedia encyclopedia. Then:

    1. Write down the information you want to find as a phrase, sentence, or question to be answered.
    2. Identify key words and/or concepts in what you've written, and make a list of them.
    3. Include on your list any synonyms for, or different forms of, those words and concepts (including plural forms and possible variations in spelling).
    4. Decide whether you may need to combine several words or concepts (including synonyms and/or variations) in your search in order to find what you're really looking for; also try to determine if there's a related concept or word that you definitely want to exclude from your search.

On to the next section... Boolean Operators

 

 

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Last modified: October, 2003 by Steinke, Ague, Feuerhelm, Maxwell, and Warburg