IL M2- Activities

 Information Literacy

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 1

Watch the videos below on how to translate concepts into accurate keywords and synonyms ( https://youtu.be/teoDklLqkDo ) and how to use Boolean operators in search engines ( https://youtu.be/bCAULDuMcso ). Then, answer a short e-quiz about Boolean operators.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Sheridan Libraries Tutorials. (14 sept 2015). Search Strategies - Constructing a Basic Search  [Video]. YouTube. CC BY. 


McMaster Libraries. (28 nov 2016). How Library Stuff Works: Boolean Operators (AND OR NOT)  [Video]. YouTube. CC BY. 


Activity 2

Differences between databases and search engines

SEARCH ENGINES

DATABASES

Easy way to find general information on any topic. Information is not organized.

Collections of information that are organized by subject, theme, type, language, and other factors

Uses complex algorithms to rank the results, based on various factors such as your previous search history or your location

Rank results by relevancy to your search terms

They contain results in different formats such as documents, websites, statistics, presentations, etc.

They contain formally published work such as academic journals, magazines, newspapers, books, etc. that are often not available in an internet search (usually you need to pay for a subscription in order to view the content , or have access through your library)

search by a full sentence or a description

search by using keywords or subject terms


Get millions of results for a search, which may or may not be relevant to your topic. They do  not have filters to narrow down the results.

Provide tools to narrow efficiently your results

Anyone can share information online, so it is necessary to filter/ evaluate  information that you may use in your academic work

Verified, often peer-reviewed, high-quality content from carefully selected sources

Information is not stable–locations and content continually change

Information is stable

 

Read the above information about differences between databases and search engines (e.g. Google), and then follow the given instructions on how to locate information in databases.

Research Question

How has pandemic affected students’ learning?

Steps to follow

Follow the instructions below to run a search in Academic Search Complete- EBSCO:

  1. Enter 2-4 keywords in the search box (use subject terms from M1-A2) and combine them using Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT.
  2. Use the limitations on the right to refine your results. You are expected to find 2 review articles, that are recently published (2018-2022).
  3. Check for relevancy, by reading important information in result record (abstract, keywords, and cited references)
  4. Access full-text by clicking on PDF, HTML, or another appropriate button
  5. You can download the articles and save them in a folder on your computer.

 

REMEMBER: There are many types of databases that you can use for your research. The database you choose will depend on what type of information you want to find. Use Academic Search Complete, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis, or other relevant database, depending on your research needs. A friendly database to get started with is Academic Search complete, a multi-disciplinary database that searches for review articles, magazine articles, scholarly articles, book reviews, etc.

* When you are off campus, you will require to use your institutional accounts for access.


Activity 3




Last modified: Friday, 13 January 2023, 3:25 PM