Refining / Improving Results Boolean Operators

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Refining / Improving ResultsBoolean Operators
Truncation

• ITOCA / IDS

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How to improve searching

• By the end of this session, you will practise
  using
• Search strategy
• Keywords or Key Phrases
• Mind-map
• Search tables (Concept Tables)
• Searching techniques to improve results
• Combining searches
• Grouping terms
• Boolean Operators
• Truncation
• Limits
• Others?

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Search Tips

• Now we have a search table using controlled
  terms
• Lets consider how best to develop a search
  strategy to improve / refine search results,
  using
• Word Stems (Truncation)
• Phrase Searching
• Field Searching or Limits
• Controlled Terms
• Grouping Terms (Boolean Operators)

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Searching by Word Stem

• Is there a short way of searching for variants of
  a word, rather than inputting a string of ORs?
  E.g.
• Child, childhood, children
• Nutrition, nutritional

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Searching by Word Stem

• Truncation
• Usually , e.g. child, nutrition
• Sometimes other symbols (e.g. , ?)
• Wildcard
• Usually ?, wom?n
• Could solve problems to do with
  plurals/singulars, spelling variations, and
  variations of a root word

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Phrase Searching

• Word searching and phrase searching. If you type
  in more than one term
• Some systems interpret this as a phrase
• Some systems give a phrase search option
• Others interpret this as an AND search (e.g.
  Google, AGORA)
• If you want to search for a phrase, enclose the
  words in quotation marks, e.g. South Africa
• Could solve problems of the phrase you searched
  for not appearing

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Field Searching or Limits

• Many databases allow you to restrict your
  searches by field or Limits,
• e.g. Title, Subject key words/phrases, Author
  etc.
• Could solve problems of getting too many matches

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Choosing Correct Term

• Some databases offer a browse function, so you
  can choose terms from a Subject list
• Probably most effective when combined with a
  field search
• Could solve problems caused by searching on the
  wrong synonym, or those caused by acronyms.
• Could solve problems of getting too few matches

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Grouping terms and combining searches (1)

• Sometimes you are able to group terms, either
  by
• Putting them in a separate search box, or
• Enclosing them in brackets
• Combining searches
• Some systems allow you to combine searches that
  you have already done
• Could solve some problems caused by not getting
  enough matches

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Boolean searching

• Allows you to specify how the search terms are
  combined
• Uses commands (operators) such as AND, OR, NOT
• Different search tools may use different symbols
  (e.g. for AND, - for NOT)
• Different search tools may use OR or AND as a
  default setting

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education
secondary
Query I want to see information about education,
but I want to avoid seeing anything about
secondary
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Group Practicals Boolean Operators

• Stand up, if you are
• Lecturer AND Librarian
• Librarian AND Trainer
• Lecturer AND Female
• Lecturer AND Male OR Female
• Can you think of any examples?

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Individual / Pair Activity 20 mins

• Using the search table you have created
• Conduct searches using range of search techniques
  (i.e. search strategy)
• Use a R4L product to find relevant material /
  resources
• Make observations be prepared to feedback your
  thoughts to the group, at the end of the session
• Relevant results?
• Number of results?

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Search Strategy

• Strategy 1 - water, health conditions, pollution
• Strategy 1a - Water AND Health Conditions AND
  Pollut (1,240) Kenya (141) urban areas NOT
  Nairobi (3)
• Strategy 2 search water, health, pollution
• Strategy 3 search rivers, diseases, pollution
• Health problems urbanareas water pollut AND
  Nairobi NOT Mombasa

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• urban areas NOT Nairobi
• Water pollut AND health conditions, KENYA

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Individual / Pair Activity

• Think of a real work-related scenario where
  you would be looking for specific information
• Define your information needs
• Create a mind-map of the related terms
• Begin to cluster your concepts / terms
• Create a search table begin to search for the
  information
• Use a R4L product

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Search strategies and techniquesSummary of
search tips

• Boolean connectors (AND, OR, NOT) to connect
  terms within your search.
• Quotation marks to specify a phrase or an exact
  match,- e.g. "action research", human rights.
• Asterix () for truncation e.g. school to find
  schools or schooling.
• Question mark (?) as a wildcard e.g.
  democrati?ation to find democratisation or
  democratization (note this one is not as
  common as other rules above)
• Brackets for grouping (determining the order in
  which terms will be combined).