1.5 Strategic web and database searching
This competency starts with academic research, but gets a lot deeper. Where do you start when you're looking for information online?
Developing this competency involves …
- Learning how to assess your information needs, identify appropriate digital information sources and finding aids, and recognize when digital and digitized sources are inappropriate or insufficient.
- Developing a critical understanding of how search engines and algorithms work, how to use them effectively, and their limitations and appropriate use contexts.
- Developing a critical understanding of how common indexing schemes work, how to use them effectively, and their limitations and appropriate use contexts.
- Learning to find and use database- or site-specific filters and Boolean, wildcard, or other specialized search functions to effectively refine searches.
See also:
Student-Curated Resources
provides great tips about being skeptical in the face of news sources, as well as providing resources on how to spot fake/biased news. You can also begin your research and find scholarly articles with