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• Factors to narrow and focus your information search
• Keywords to represent your search information needs
• Boolean operators and other limiting search commands
• Search engines shortcuts to save time

After completing this unit, educators and learners will be able to:

• Develop an effcient information search strategy
• Learn how to use search commands in databases
• Filter information outputs of search engines

Level of Competencies Targeted in this Unit

• Basic

The abundance of available content means that the information that is sought-after is not always easy to access, as it is organized in different ways in databases, repositories, repertories, libraries, information centers and quite often individually sorted. Therefore, when searching for information, there is a need to develop strategies to explore and find relevant information or data. Some resource providers, like libraries, have standardized ways to classify and catalogue information items that make searching easier. However, those produced and stored by other providers, such as websites, may use a myriad of information organization methods that makes it difficult to search, locate, and retrieve what is relevant.

The key commands to retrieve relevant database outputs - including in general searches on the Internet, whether by a special search engine or on social media or ecommerce services - use Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT. The use of these words in the search, will eliminate irrelevant results and save time and effort. Search engines use search delimiters to help you to find what you need with minimum irrelevant resources. Some examples are given in an activity below.

A good way to learn Boolean operators is to practice them. Ask learners to choose two related topics (either historic or current), for example a virus and vaccines, and how they affected their country both positively and negatively. The learners then apply Boolean operators in searching for information on these topics either in a search engine or a library database, using the below guidelines, adapted from “Database Tips” by the Massachusetts lnstitute of Technology (MlT) Libraries, where you can also find information about the use of other search operators.

As discussed earlier in this Curriculum (Part 1) various pedagogical approaches are possible. Please review the list in Part 1 and decide which approach to apply to the suggested activities below and others that you may formulate.

1. Using the Boolean Operator AND to combine topic, country and date 

Use AND in your search to:

• Narrow your results
• Tell the database that all defined search terms must be present in the resulting records
• Example: cloning AND humans AND ethics

The purple triangle in the middle of the Venn diagram below represents the result set for this search. It is a small set using AND, the combination of all three search words.

It should be noted that in many, but not all, databases, the AND is implied.

• For example, Google automatically puts an AND in between your search terms. Though all your search terms are included in the results, they may not be connected together in the way you want
• For example, this search: college students test anxiety is translated to: college AND students AND test AND anxiety. The words may appear individually throughout the resulting records
• You can search using phrases to make your results more specific
• For example: “college students” AND “test anxiety”. This way, the result will better correspond to the information you are looking for

2. Using OR to combine your topic with other information such as country and date Use OR in a search to:

• Connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)
• Broaden your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be Present in the resulting records
• Example: cloning OR genetics OR reproduction

All three circles represent the result set for this search. It is a big set because any of those words are valid using the OR operator.

1. Using NOT to combine your topic, country and date Use NOT in your search to:

• Exclude words from your search
• Narrow your search, telling the database to ignore concepts that may be implied by your search terms
• Example: “cloning NOT sheep”

2. Search order

Databases follow commands you type in and return results based on those commands. Be aware of the logical order in which words are connected when using Boolean Operators:

• Databases usually recognize AND as the primary operator, and will connect concepts with AND together first
• If you use a combination of AND and OR operators in a search, enclose the words to be ‘ORed’ together in parentheses

Examples:

• Ethics AND (cloning OR reproductive techniques)
• (Ethic* OR moral*) AND (bioengineering OR cloning)

1. Google Search Operators (Consider other search engines such as DuckDuckGo, Baidu, Yandex, Ecosia, etc. )

A more advanced tool is the Google Search Operators (2020). You can group learners in teams to use the operators to research specific topics. Search for the topic using each of the six categories listed in the table below. Each team can consequently be tasked with presenting the advantages of using these search operators to narrow search results and have more effective search retrievals. The following table below lists the six categories. The included hyperlinks leads to webpages where one can obtain full information on how to use these search operators.

1. Case study

Different countries might have different advertising regulations. Find a social media company or search engine company that operate in different countries and research the advertising regulations in respective country. Investigate if that social media or search engine company complies with the different regulations in the respective countries, and discuss issues such as a) conficts between revenues and the public interest b) ethical issues between revenues and privacy and c) the public response to a) and b) in different countries.

2. Research practicing other search limiting tools

Using the Internet and search operators, investigate the regulations that exist in your region for the advertising industry. Identify where the regulations are located and how accessible the information is to citizens needing to access this information. Identify which individuals or groups have created these regulations. Summarize the key areas that are covered by the regulations and explain their purpose. Explain how the regulations support the interests of citizens and consumers of the regulated services. Explain the potential impact of these regulations on the industry. In instances where an advertisement violates the regulations, investigate the recourse available to consumers. See more on advertising in Module 10.

• Written examinations
• Essays, refection and reaction papers to lectures, case studies, audiovisual presentations/viewings
• Participation in group learning activities
• Production of information-education-communication materials (e.g. posters, brochures, infographics, social media cards, vlogs)
• Research paper
• Investigative story/report

Topics for Further Consideration

• Articulating hypotheses, laws, or models
• Searching library catalogues
• Web credibility assessment