Video 3.1
Source: eCampus Ontario
Length: 0:39
As a post-secondary learner, digital tools and technology will play a central role in finding quality sources to support your coursework and research. Developing digital research skills will help you define and plan data searches, collect data, and identify relevant datasets to critically interpret reliable information. These skills will also support you in the workplace as you continue to engage in professional learning and research activities.
When conducting research as a post-secondary learner, you will typically follow these steps (The Learning Portal, 2024):
- Choose a Topic: Begin by identifying your general area of interest, within the boundaries of your assignment, and then narrow it down by asking specific questions within that domain. Ultimately, aim for a topic that's specific enough to delve into deeply, yet broad enough to find sufficient credible sources and make meaningful contributions to your assignment.
- Identify Resources: Information comes in many different formats, including books, eBooks, journal articles, magazines, open-access journals, grey literature, websites, and social media. Understanding the various types of content available to you will make it easier to plan your research.
- Search Library Databases and the Web: The searching stage of your assignment can often take a long time, but putting in the time at this stage will reward you with relevant results that will make writing your assignment much easier. This module will provide you with some helpful strategies to search library databases and the web.
- Evaluate your Resources: While collecting content from your library and from the web, you should also be evaluating the information for quality. Keep in mind that not all the information you find online is credible, reliable, or even appropriate for your topic, so it is important to take a closer look at what you are reading. Learn more about how to evaluate sources you find in the next section of this module.
The following sections will help you and Shayan develop the Digital Research skills you will need to be successful as a post-secondary learner and a professional. You will learn about:
- using web browsers and databases,
- evaluating sources for quality, and
- determining intellectual property rights.
Using Web Browsers and Databases
Web browsers and databases are digital tools that can help you find the information you need to support your coursework and research. Learning to use web browsers and databases effectively is central to your success as a post-secondary learner (Dermody et al, 2022).
Web Browsers
A web browser is a type of software that allows you to find and view websites on the internet. There are many different web browsers, but some of the most common ones are Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox (GCFGlobal, n.d.). You may already be familiar with one or more of these.
Image 3.3
Source: Peterson, M. (2022, May 31). Compared: Safari vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Edge on macOS in 2022. Apple Insider. https://appleinsider.com/inside/safari/vs/compared-safari-vs-chrome-vs-firefox-vs-edge-on-macos-in-2022
Description: Icons for different web browsers: Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
Let’s use Google Chrome as an example. When using Google Chrome to search the internet, you will type the information you want to find in the address bar. You can type in keywords or a URL.
Keywords pertain to the information you want to find (e.g., words, phrases, or questions about the topic). For example:
- web browsers tips
Image 3.4
Source: eCampus Ontario
Description: Google search results for “web browser tips” with “Top 10 internet tips and tricks” displayed at the top from the Computer Hope website. - How do I use Google Chrome?
Image 3.5
Source: eCampus Ontario
Description: Google search results for “How do I use Google Chrome?” with a tutorial video from YouTube displayed at the top of the results.
The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a specific resource on the internet. URLs typically end in .com, .ca, .edu, .gov, .org, or .net. For example: https://support.google.com/
Image 3.6
Source: eCampus Ontario
Description: Google’s support page asking “How can we help you?” in large text above a search bar with placeholder text prompting “Describing your issue”. On either side of the search bar are digital illustrations of people engaged in various actions, like using a ladder, or helping someone perform a task. Below the search bar is a link prompting “Read about Google’s response to COVID-19” and below this are boxes with different Alphabet/Google apps: Google Chrome, Google Account, YouTube, and Gmail.
If you enter keywords, Google then sorts through hundreds of billions of web pages and other content stored in their Search index to find helpful information to present the most relevant, useful results in a fraction of a second. Google uses search algorithms based on meaning, relevance, quality, usability, and context to decide what information will be most useful to you (Google, n.d.). You can also use filters to refine your Google search and narrow results to images, videos, news, books, maps, and more. It is important to evaluate the quality of the sources Google presents and not rely solely on the search engine’s decisions. You will learn more about evaluating sources for quality later in this module (Google Search).
Google explains more about how its search ranking works.
Watch this video to learn more about how to use web browsers here!
Video 3.1
Source: GCFLearnFree. (2014, July 16). Browser Basics? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxirRVJWUTs
Length: 3:23
Databases
A database is a searchable collection of resources on a variety of subjects. Scholarly databases are subscription-based and paid for by post-secondary libraries so learners, faculty, and other institution members can access the information. The content found in databases can include scholarly journal articles, encyclopedia articles, newspaper articles, e-books, streaming media, and other digital sources. When instructors or professors ask you to find scholarly, peer-reviewed academic articles (The Learning Portal, n.d.), you can search for them in databases.
Popular scholarly databases provided by post-secondary libraries include:
Some databases are freely accessible, for example:
While both databases and web browsers allow you to find information to support your coursework and research, there are some key differences to be aware of.
Image 3.7
Source: eCampus Ontario
Description: A text-based infographic explaining the differences between web browsers and databases. Text explaining databases reads: Search for sources from a curated collection, excluding websites; Offer many advanced search options to narrow results; Content is peer reviewed and updated regularly by experts in the field; and Advertisement free. Text explaining web browsers reads: Search for sources from the entire internet, including websites; Offer limited advanced search options so results are broad; Anyone can put information on the internet; and May contain advertisements.
The Learning Portal has some helpful tips to guide your library database searches!
Image 3.8
Source: eCampus Ontario
Description: Tips for library searches. The first tip is Decide which type of library your need: Identify the types of information you are required to use in your assignment. This helps you figure out the library resources that make sense to your research. The second tip is Plan your time: The searching stage of your assignment can often take a long time as you decide what sources you need, where to find them, and identify keywords/synonyms/related terms to do multiple searches. Putting in the time at this stage will reward you with relevant results that will make writing your assignment much easier. Third tip is Figure out library searching shortcuts: Many library resources include features like the ability to email yourself articles, cite them, and link you to more articles of the same type. Using library resources can help save you time and find quality information. The fourth and final tip is Find credible resources: Library resources are most often more credible than unfiltered online information from the web. Library resources can save you time by quickly passing the CRAAP test Opens in new window. What is the CRAPP test Opens in new window? A test that evaluates the quality of information against 5 important criteria.
Video 3.2
Source: The Learning Portal / Le Portail d’Apprentissage. (2017, February 15). The Web and the Library: Which One Should I Use? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kyD77jXb8&list=PLTnjjdSlNvx2kcfBh4rXuWIP20W6zRHo2&index=6
Length: 2:02
Google Scholar
Google Scholar – https://scholar.google.ca/ – is a popular, free search engine that finds open-access scholarly articles (Cornell University Library, n.d.), academic books, case law, and grey literature online (Gerstein Science Information Centre, n.d.).
Grey literature refers to materials published non-commercially. These materials can be made available by the government, academia, not-for-profit, business, and trade organizations, in print and digital formats. It is sometimes more current than published research, and it is a great way to supplement your research, providing your project with a more complete viewpoint. Examples of grey literature include:
- Conference proceedings
- Reports (e.g., statistical, technical, committee reports)
- White papers
- Flyers Newsletters
- Fact sheets
- Theses and dissertations
- Patents
- Unpublished materials (The Learning Portal, n.d.).
Searching with Google Scholar
You can use Google Scholar to find open access sources. However, if you log into Google Scholar through your post-secondary institution’s library, it will also search your library’s databases. Google Scholar is relatively easy to use and can help you become familiar with journal titles and authors of interest. You can search Google Scholar by author name, title, or keywords.
Or you can do an Advanced Search:
Image 3.9
Source: Google Scholar. (n.d.). Advanced Search Options. Google. https://scholar.google.ca/#d=gs_asd&t=1691691656118
Description: Advanced search options using Google Scholar for finding articles. Options include the following: with all the words, with the exact phrase, with at least of the words, without the words, where my words occur (anywhere in the article or in the title of the article), return articles authored by, returned articles published in, and return articles dates between.
Search Features of Google Scholar
- Date range: Choose the currency of your results.
- Cited by: View other articles that list this article as a reference.
- Citations: Click on the quotation mark to get an auto-generated citation. Just be sure to check it against the library's citation guides before including it in your assignment.
- Related articles: If you find a good article, you can see similar ones.
- Create alert: If you will be working on a project over the course of a semester, set up an alert to get notified when new articles are published that match your search terms.
Limitations of Google Scholar
- Cannot perform advanced searches to narrow results like library databases
- Relies on keyword searches, not expert metadata
- Includes sources that are not peer-reviewed
- Sources are not always credible
- Does not always provide full-text versions of sources
Search Language
When using library databases and search engines to find sources and conduct research, you can use keywords, Boolean operators, truncation, and wildcards to focus your results (Dermody et al., 2022).
Keywords (also known as search terms) are important for effective searching. Your search terms are directly related to your topic or research question and will appear somewhere within the resource you are looking for (e.g., title, abstract, or author keywords). Along with search terms, you can also use search concepts. Search concepts are the most important ideas associated with your topic or research question. In short, search terms are the main ideas of your topic and search concepts are the big ideas related to your topic (Dermody et al., 2022).
For example, your keywords might be “global warming”, “climate”, and “greenhouse gas”. Your key concepts would be “ecology” and “environment” (Dermody et al., 2022).
Boolean operators connect your search terms (keywords) and search concepts together. The three basic operators are: OR, AND, and NOT.
- The OR operator broadens your search results by retrieving records that contain either or both of your search terms or concepts. Usually, terms within a concept are combined using the Boolean OR operator.
- The AND operator narrows the search results by retrieving records that contain both of your search terms or concepts. Usually, different concepts are combined using the Boolean AND operator.
- The NOT operator narrows the search results by eliminating a specific search term. You should use the NOT operator with caution. This is because it can eliminate relevant results that happen to mention the term you are “noting” out.
For example, you could search Cognitive Behavioral Therapy OR C.B.T. AND Depression.
Depending on the database (e.g., PubMed) or search engine (e.g., Google Scholar) you use, the operator(s) may be required to be entered in upper case letters. Consult the database’s or search engine’s Help information or Search Tips for details about how to enter the Boolean Operators.
Truncation involves using a symbol to avoid typing out all possible variations of a word. For example, surg* will retrieve surgery, surgeries, surgeon, or surgical. The truncation symbol should be used with caution to ensure relevant words are being retrieved. The most common symbol used is an asterisk (*).
Wildcard symbols can be used to substitute for one or more characters, or any single character. This is useful when dealing with variant spelling (e.g., pediatric and paediatric). One of the most common symbols used is the question mark (?). For example, in the Ovid database, p?ediatric* will retrieve pediatric OR paediatric OR pediatrics OR paediatrics. Databases use different wildcard symbols, so check the database Help information or Search Tips for details about which symbol to use (Dermody et al., 2022).
Learn more about using search language (The Learning Portal, n.d.)!
Try It!
Practice searching for sources using Google, Google Scholar, and your institution’s library databases.
- Focus on a topic of your choice.
- Use a variety of keywords, Boolean operators, and symbols to refine your searches.
- Compare and contrast the results you get from each search.
- Exchange tips for doing digital research using Google, Google Scholar, and library databases with some of your classmates.
Conducting Literature Reviews
As a post-secondary learner, you may be required to conduct a formal literature review as part of the research process.
A literature review is an integrative summary of published research on a specific topic. The literature review seeks to synthesize what is already known about the topic, and sometimes, explicitly state what is not known, or not well understood.
The following are the key characteristics of a literature review:
- It contains a clear research question/problem that it is trying to answer.
- It is not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another.
- It is organized into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory related to the research question.
- It may expose debates in the field or gaps in the research.
All literature reviews follow a familiar process:
Image 3.10
Source: eCampus Ontario
Description: A text-based infographic list of steps for the literature review process: 1. Find and examine existing literature reviews. 2. Formulate a research question. 3. Search for sources. 4. Assess the quality of your results and select your sources. 5. Synthesize the important information from your sources. 6. Analyze what you’ve found.
Activity
Let’s help Shayan review some of the key terms he will need to understand when using web browsers and databases to find information. Match each term with its correct definition. Click each definition you would like to change and use the check button at the top to see your progress.
Now, let’s help Shayan decide which search tool will be the best way to search for the type of information he is looking for.
Thinking about using web browsers and databases for digital research.
- Have you used a web browser, library database, or Google Scholar before?
- How can you access your post-secondary institution’s library database?
- Who or what can support you in using web browsers and databases for digital research?
