Searching

Searching

1 Beginning the search

....seeking ... looking ... retrieving ...

The second step in the information literacy process is locating information. Once you have a reasonable idea of what information is needed, you can start to look for it.
In this topic you will find resources to help you, and a quick quiz.
There are two main parts to this:
1. Where to look - what type of materials? Where will I find these materials?
2. How to look - what is my search strategy?
Where to look
What type of materials?  where we might find these materials? Look in the Resources document for this topic to guide you.
This unit requires you to extend your Information literacy skills - you will be required to investigate new search tools and sources!

How to look

In this unit you will be expected to use the fundamental skill of constructing a search strategy. Search strategies will need to be precise as your bibliography will require you to search for very specific information.
Remember: different search tools will require a different approach to constructing a search strategy.  You should base your strategies in this unit on skills gained in Research and analyse information in this course, or  - if you have completed them in previous qualifications - the units Search information databases or Develop and use information literacy skills.
Beginning to search
What type of material best suits my needs?
Different types of information might be suitable for different clients or specific needs. Its best to consider this before searching!
Buying a fridge example
Lets think of a simple example. Perhaps a library client is looking to buy a new fridge. Part of their need is for information on the performance of fridges. The information needs to be current, and written for consumers. Where would we look?

1. Books? A book is likely to be out of date, however they might give us an overview of what to consider.

2. A website? A website might be commercially oriented - but we may find discussions and comment written by consumers on a forum or consumer blog of some kind.

3. A journal article? There are certainly trade and consumer focused periodicals. We will need to be careful to avoid more academic material however. Periodicals by their very nature contain current information  -  and we can limit our search to materials published in recent issues.
4. Conference papers or research findings? These - although current and unbiased  - would probably be too academic.
5. Primary, secondary or tertiary sources? Primary sources such as the comments of other consumers may be useful in helping with choice, as may secondary evaluative sources which interpret data, events or discussions. Tertiary sources may not be applicable - our client has a simple and specific need.
Where will you look for the variety of information required by your research topic?

...and how will you search?