Unit 4: Search Strategies

• It is very important to be able to effectively search for the

information you need.  Many databases contain millions of
items or articles.   It is wise to learn how to find exactly what
you need from these databases. 
 Search Strategies
There are some basic search strategies that apply to many different types of resources. 
Whether you are searching for books, or magazines, or Internet documents these basic search
strategies may apply:
• Use synonyms to broaden your search:  Car, cars, autos, automobiles, vehicles  
• Use root or stem searching. Search for any instance of the root word.  Most databases
use an asterisk to show that any characters are allowed.  For example, computer* will find
computer, computers, computerize, computerization, etc.
• Use quotes to keep phrases together.  "social networking" 
• Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)  to get the most out of your search terms.  (car or
cars or automobile) and (fuel or energy) and (hybrid or electric*)
• Make use of the variety of fields that make up the records.  For example, search in title field
only, or in the subject field only 
 Searching for Books

• Books and other materials in the HIT LIS are arranged by subject using
the Library of Congress Classification System resulting in books on the
same subject found closed to each other and this facilitates easy
browsing. e.g.  
• With the LC Scheme, the library was able to produce a complete listing
of all resources in the library i.e. the library catalogue OPAC (online
public access catalogue)
• Use of LC Scheme is turning out to be universal with most colleges and
universities using it to create order on the shelves and facilitate easy
browsing and retrieval of material from the shelves .  
 Searching for books conti..
Books in the HIT library are found using Mandarin OASIS, our
online catalog.  You have four choices of ways to search in Quick
Search mode:
1. Anywhere
2. Author
3. Subject
4. Title
 Searching books
For more details about these, see the HIT Library catalogue
Mandarin OASIS
 Searching for Journal Articles and Published Reports

• To find articles in journals, we use database indexes. 

• The database indexes are found under E-resources on the
library homepage. 
• Thousands of full text publications are indexed in these
databases. 
• These publications are found on campus only.
 Periodicals conti…
Each periodical database indexes different types of publications. 
Some databases have more scholarly sources, some cover a
specific subject area, and some are helpful in locating more
recent or older sources.  It is important to make sure you have
selected the best database for your topic. 
Most periodical databases allow users to search by author of the
article, title of the magazine or journal, subject, keyword, full
text, date and other fields. When doing a search for a topic, it is
best to start with a keyword search and then try to determine what
subject is used for your topic.
 Searching for Videos and DVDs

All of the videos and DVDs in the HIT Library may be searched
for using Mandarin Oasis, the online catalog (The DVDs are still
being indexed in the bibliographic services). At present they are
found at the reference desk.
This is the same catalog that is used to find the books in the
Library.  
 Searching for Information on the Internet

Searching for information on the Internet can be the most

rewarding of research endeavors. You have the world at your
fingertips; but, because of this, you have to be able to search
“smart”. You have to be able to use the Internet search tools
efficiently to be able to extract the information that is available to
you on the Internet.
There are several good tools to help you find good quality
information on the Internet. The two most useful tools are search
engines and subject catalogs.
 Searching the Internet
1. Search engines are best used when you have a pretty good
idea what you are looking for. Examples are news events,
specific business information, government statistics, and
virtually any detailed information that you have search terms
for. 
2. Subject catalogs are best used when you want to find very
good quality, comprehensive coverage on a topic.  These
catalogs will lead you to some of the highest quality Web sites
available on your topic. 
 Search Engines
• Search engines are mighty tools for the Internet researcher. We
have all heard of Google and Yahoo. Currently, these are two of
the largest, most comprehensive search engines. 
• Subject Catalogs are collections of Internet sites that have been
viewed and classified by people with expertise in various subject
fields. Often working as a team, they understand their subjects
and can identify reliable, valid and useful information.
Now that you understand how to find information, it's time to move
on to Module IV "Evaluating Information," which will help you
decide which sources to use.