Outlne for Navigating the Sea of Information
You can request this 18-minute video through the PCC library.
Ask for video 2288 (Winter Haven) or 2289 (Lakeland).
With the help of a friendly librarian and a talking computer,
a student learns how to complete a research assignment for her
biology class. This video shows students how to narrow a subject
and develop a search strategy.
Terms to discuss with your class:
Database - any collection of information. Cookbooks,
telephone directories, and dictionaries are databases. Libraries
have many specialized databases to help researchers find information
they need.
Inverted triangle - Researchers constantly think about
moving from broad, general information to topics that are more
focused and specific.
Hits - the list of sources and references you receive
when you type a keyword into a database.
Search strategy - a plan for finding the information
you need. Often you should start with an encyclopedia to get general
background information about your subject.
Peer Review - an evaluation process used by high-quality
professional journals and book publishers. Experts in a field
vote on whether a book or article should be accepted for publication.
Keywords - You can type words or phrases into a database
in order to find articles and books about your subject. The keywords
may be subjects, authors, or titles.