This document provides guidance to students on conducting internet research for academic projects. It discusses using search engines like Google Scholar and using Boolean search techniques with keywords and operators like AND, OR and NOT to refine searches. It then uses an example student project on whether video games increase aggression in teenagers to demonstrate how to brainstorm keywords, develop alternative search strings, and find initial secondary research to develop the project topic. Students are instructed to work in groups to research their projects and complete an activity on assessing internet sources.

1. Progression Hours – Year 12

2. “Successful people ask better
questions, and as a result, they get
better answers.”
Tony Robbins

4. Internet research skills/critical reading
Following on from last lesson, in small groups you
are going to take one of the projects forward and
begin completing some internet research.
By the end of the session, you will have a clear
topic, question/thesis for the exemplar project,
and you will have carried out some basic
secondary research using the internet.

5. Internet sources – good and bad.
How do you gather your information on the
internet?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+a+black+hole%3F

6. Is that how you use the web?
If so, you may be missing valuable research
data.
A simple switch for academic purposes will
yield a greater variety of data, see the
screen shots on the next slide.

7. Basic Google search. Using
punctuation makes no
difference on this occasion.

8. http://scholar.google.co.uk/
Can you work out the difference? Compare the two in pairs.
What has Google Scholar done for you?

9. A Metasearch
A search engine that searches the search engines.
Why? To see how search engines rank information
by popularity – see screenshot.
Useful as a first step filtering process.

11. BOOLEAN SEARCH TECHNIQUES
It is possible to compose some complex search expressions using
Boolean logic on this search system. To do so, use the following
terms:
'AND' (Boolean AND)
'OR' (Boolean OR)
'AND NOT' (Boolean NOT)
Parentheses can also be used when conducting an advanced search.
For example: art AND (school OR college) - this expresses a search
for records containing information about art schools or colleges.
Taken from http://www.adam.ac.uk/info/boolean.html

12. This is expressed as 'blue AND yellow' in a search.
When using AND in this search expression, results retrieved will
contain both blue and yellow information. The results will not include
those documents containing only blue or only yellow information. In
the diagram the documents retrieved by using this search expression
are contained within the green area.
EXAMPLE: art AND schools
This will retrieve all records containing both keywords art and
schools.

13. This is expressed as 'blue OR yellow' in a search.
When using OR in this search expression, results retrieved will contain either
blue information, or yellow information, or blue and yellow information
together. Such a search will not merely retrieve documents containing only
blue information or only yellow information. In the diagram the documents
retrieved by using this search expression are contained within all the colour
areas.
EXAMPLE: ceramics OR pottery
This will retrieve all records containing the keywords ceramics or pottery, as
well as those containing both.

14. This is expressed as 'blue NOT yellow' in a search.
When using NOT in this search expression, results will contain only blue.
The NOT operator will exclude yellow completely and thus any green
information will be excluded also. It is important, therefore, to be careful
when using this operator in order to avoid hindering your search. In this
diagram the documents retrieved by using this search expression are
contained within the blue area.
EXAMPLE: film NOT photography
This will retrieve all records containing the keyword film but not the
keyword photography.

15. Student Exemplar
Billy studies Psychology, Sociology, Maths and Media.
His project title is ‘Do Video Games increase aggressive
behaviour in teenagers?’
Billy is stuck.
Billy needs your help.
Will you help Billy?
Please…
In pairs, discuss what you would search on the internet
and what advice you would give Billy.
Feedback.

16. Step 1 – identify key words
• Video Games
• Aggressive behaviour
• Teenagers
These will form the basis of your search.
Complete your first search using the Boolean AND
method and show me your results.

17. Step 2 – Alternate Key Words
• Video Games – Computer Games
• Aggressive Behaviour – Aggression
• Teenagers – Adolescents
This will form the basis of your second search. Use the Boolean method
using AND and OR in search.
Example:
(Video Games or Computer Games) AND (teenagers or adolescents) AND
(aggressive behaviour or aggression)
What are the results? Compare with your partner.

20. Now develop your project from last session.
Using your improved research skills, work as a group to find
some initial secondary research using the internet.
Complete the activity ‘Spinning the Web: Assessing Internet
Sources’ which can be found at the back of your pack.
Feedback to class.
All questions and enquiries to
@RMTBAH Mr Mayers
All feedback on this session welcome.