Tex Share Homework Help Lesson 1

TexShare Databases Program Using TexShare Databases for Homework Help Lesson 1: The Search Process

Reasons for using the TexShare Databases
Access to high quality, accurate information
Free
Able to conduct focused searches using limiters and expanders
Has both historical and up-to-date information
No shelf space required
Search many sources at once

Portable information
Print
Save
Email
Copy/paste material
Appropriate citations

Supports educational standards for all students
According to TEKS Standards, students are expected to
Generate research topics
Formulate a research plan
Collect information from a variety of sources - including online searches.

Students are also expected to
Clarify research questions
Evaluate and synthesize collected information
Improve the focus of research as a result of consulting expert sources (e.g., reference librarians ).
Reasons for using the TexShare Databases As a public librarian, you can assist students in meeting these educational standards.

Lesson 1: The Search Process
Steps of the search process
Conduct a reference interview
Formulate a search strategy
Access the databases
Identify appropriate databases
Perform the search

Conducting the Reference Interview
Information need
Purpose or desired outcome
Type and amount of information needed
Types of sources needed
The patron’s knowledge of the subject
Previous searching efforts
Project deadline
Teacher demands for types of materials, if any
Final product – report, essay, debate, poster, etc.
Determine

1. Interview continued….
Remember!
Communicate with the patron in a receptive and polite manner
Avoid using jargon
Make sure the query you enter into the database is free of spelling or other errors
Explain the search strategy and sources
Help to narrow or broaden the search as needed

Try it!
Information need
Purpose or desired outcome
Type and amount of information needed
Types of sources needed
The patron’s knowledge of the subject
Previous searching efforts
Project deadline
Teacher demands for types of materials, if any
Final product – report, essay, debate, poster, etc.
As a group, develop a list of open-ended questions which determine:

Accessing the Databases
http://www.libraryoftexas.org/
Integrate TexShare databases into your library electronic resource subscriptions.
Offer patrons access to all electronic resources from a single place.
Contact TSLAC if you would like your database descriptions added to the Library of Texas website.

Accessing the Databases
Search
Advanced Search
Pick Collections to Search
View Results
View Items
TexShare Databases Menu
Click Login link.
Fill in User and Password .
Click Log in button.
Click TexShare Database Menu

Formulating a Search Strategy
Keyword
Phrase
Subject or Subject Term

Try it! As a group or with a partner, brainstorm a list of keywords and phrases; determine possible limiting factors. Discuss your list and why you chose the words, phrases or factors.

How do our Thanksgiving Day celebrations compare to those of the past? (elementary school)
Should Pluto really be considered a planet? (elementary school)
Should people be allowed to build homes in an area prone to natural disasters? (middle school)
How is geometry reflected in nature? (high school)
How does the Electoral College work, and is it necessary? (high school)
Try it!

Selecting the appropriate databases
General Information and Periodicals
Academic Search Complete
MasterFILE Premier
Funk and Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia
Net Library
Newspaper Source
Psychology and Behavioral Science Collection
R eligion and Philosophy Collection

Selecting Databases
Homework and Education
Searchasaurus
EBSCO Kids Search
EBSCO Student Research Center
Middle Search Plus
ERIC - E ducation R esource I nformation C enter
Professional Development Collection
Teacher Reference Center Index

History and Genealogy
Texas Reference Center
World History Collection
Handbook of Texas
HeritageQuest Online
Texas Digital Sanborn Maps
Selecting Databases

Health and Medical
Health Source: Consumer Edition
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
Natural and Alternative Treatments
Consumer Health Complete
Health and Wellness Resource Center
Health Reference Center Academic
Medline
Salud en Español
Selecting Databases

Business Resources
Enhanced Business Search
Business Source Complete
Economia y Negocios
InfoTrac Custom Newspapers
Regional Business News
Selecting Databases

Books and Literature
20 th Century Poetry Collections
Contemporary Authors
Contemporary Literary Criticism
Dictionary of Literary Biography
Literature Resource Center with Scribner and Twayne’s
WorldCat
Selecting Databases

Still can’t decide?
Click on Complete List of Databases
Selecting Databases

Choose a database.
Click on more info
Selecting Databases

Informational paragraph pops up.
Selecting Databases

The Search Process

The Search Process
Basic Searches
Contain one or more keywords or phrases.
Quotation marks keep words within a phrase together when searching.

Advanced Searches
Search using keywords or phrases.
May be narrowed by
Limiters
Narrow down the number of results
Makes the list of results more useful
Boolean operators
Field codes
The Search Process

Limiters in Advanced Search
Full Text
Publication date range
Publication type
Source type
Multimedia images
The Search Process

The Search Process Boolean Operators … AND… … OR… … NOT…

The Search Process

Subject Search
Generates a list of publication types
May show hierarchy of subdivisions
Subject Term Search
Generates list of related terms
May contain a scope note – how term is used
May provide lists for broader terms, narrower terms, related terms.
The Search Process

Try it! Discussion questions What were some of the controlled vocabulary words and phrases? Did any of the words or phrases seem as though they would help to narrow the results? A parent wants to know more about learning for children with Down’s syndrome. The keywords she has been trying have yielded too many results. You recommend that she use a subject term search to generate some possible search terms to help narrow the results.

Interpreting the Results
Product: result list of articles
View the detailed citation/summary.
Use abstract
Go to full text
Limit or expand results?

Citation
Detailed citation contains:
Article abstract
Source name
Document type
Article
Book
Newspaper
Dissertation
Other content
Subject terms
Use it!

Narrowing, refining, revising Narrow subject using Source types or Subject

Narrowing, refining, revising
Search the Subject Thesaurus
Add limiters
Use Advanced Search option

Too many results
Use more specific keywords, phrases, and/or subject terms
Apply limiters such as full text and/or date range
Use Boolean operators
Use quotations marks around phrases

Too few results
Use broader keywords and/or phrases
Use different keywords and/or phrases
Avoid using plurals
Check the spelling
Use different Boolean operators
Remove some or all of the limiters
Use expanders

Irrelevant results
Use different keywords and/or phrases
Search in a different database
Use the “more like this” feature

Brainstorm and Suggest
As a group, brainstorm additional techniques for narrowing results, expanding results, and irrelevant results. Add the techniques to the above list.

Viewing the Final Results

Click the article title in the Results list.
Click the full text link for the article. This article can be HTML or PDF.
Alternatively, click on the results page, click Full Text under Citation

Print
Email
Save
Cite
Export
a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

EBSCO folder
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Lesson Summary
Components and importance of the reference interview
Electronic databases vs web search engines or print sources
How to access all TexShare databases
Search strategy: types of searches, database limiting, basic and advanced search techniques
Search: interpretation, refinement, and disposition of search results

Tex Share Homework Help Lesson 1

by TSLAC - Library Development

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