1. TSEM 102
Laksamee Putnam
lputnam@towson.edu
Research & Instruction Librarian
Slides:
http://bit.ly/TSEMfall2013

2. First…
 Laksamee Putnam
 lputnam@towson.edu
 Cook Library Reference:
 410.704.2462.
 IM/email
 Phone: 410.704.3746.
 Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU
 Albert S. Cook facebook profile!
 Slides: http://bit.ly/TSEMfall2013

3. A quick plug…
 Get Writing Help at
Cook!
 Appointments:
Monday – Thursday
6-9; Sunday 3-9
 Walk-ins: Monday –
Thursday 7-8;
Sunday 5:30-6:30
Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsdkrebs/6812988187/

4. Agenda
 Video Discussion
 Background reading/Internet searching
 Keywords
 Evaluating Resources

5. Wikipedia Woes and Google Gaffs
 What are the pros and
cons of so much
information being
online?
 What do you do to be
sure you’re finding
credible resources?
 How do you evaluate
the information you
find while
researching?
 Why is it important to
support your argument
with valid sources?
Google Analytics (2012) Google analytics in
real life – Site search.
http://youtu.be/cbtf1oyNg-8
DuckDuckGo (2012). There are no “regular
results” on Google anymore.
http://vimeo.com/duckduckgo/bubble

6. Web “Pre-Searching”
 Why start your search online?
 Find background information
 Help solidify research topic
 Find new terminology to use as keywords
 Find links and/or citations to other sources

7. Through out the lesson:
Fill out this spreadsheet
 http://bit.ly/GFq0LB
 Enter your name and research topic
 The Importance of Music Education in Schools
 Cyberbullying: The Impact on Student Learning
 Mainstreaming
 Impact of Homelessness on the Education of
Children
 Public vs Private Education
 The Drop-out Rate
 Students Athletes: Are They a Privileged Group?
 Obesity: The Impact on the Social, Emotional, and
Academic Development of Children.

8. Improve Google
internet and bully
 Advanced Google
searching
 Duck Duck Go
body image and girls
 Cook Library’s
Guide to the Web

9. Find some websites!
 Enter your websites into the online
worksheet

10. Keywords are critical!
 Sample topic:
 Which age is childhood obesity in the
United States the highest?
 First, break the question down into
concepts:
 Which age is childhood obesity in the
United States the highest?

11. More on keywords…
 Expand your list to include synonyms then add to it
once you have done some background reading.
 Which age is childhood obesity in the United States the
highest?
childhood obesity United States
adolescent over weight USA
child* obese North America
young BMI

12. Search Tip #1
Boolean “search connectors”
AND OR NOT
For example:
internet AND children
Combining >1 topic
instruct OR teach
Combining synonymous terms

13. Search Tip #2
 Use truncation!
 Educat* finds
 Educate
 Education
 Educating
 Educator
 Etc…

14. Search Tip #3
 Phrase Searching…
 Use quotations to keep a keyword phrase
intact (words will be searched in the
specific order)
 Examples:
 “No Child Left Behind”
 “school reform”

15. Putting it all together…
 Which age is childhood obesity in the United States
the highest?
childhood
child*
adolescent
young
obesity
over weight
BMI
United States
USA
North America
child* OR adolescent OR young
AND
obesity OR overweight OR BMI
AND
United States OR USA OR North America

16. Create keywords
 Enter your keywords into the online
worksheet

17. Evaluate what you find
 Go to one of the websites below and
analyze it
 http://bit.ly/cosmicweb3
 http://bit.ly/cosmicweb4
 http://bit.ly/cosmicweb5
 http://bit.ly/cosmicweb6
 http://bit.ly/cosmicweb7

18. Currency
Reliability
Authority
Purpose/Point of View
Check for CRAP

19. Check for CRAP
 Currency
 How recent is the
information?
 Can you locate a
date when the
resource was
written/created/upda
ted?
 Based on your topic,
is this current
enough?
 Why might the date
matter for your topic?
Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard
Library
http://www.flickr.com/photos/helloeveryone123/393737
4193/sizes/m/in/photostream/

20. Check for CRAP
 Reliability
 What kind of
information is
included in the
resource?
 Does the author
provide citations &
references for
quotations & data
 Where am I
accessing this
information?
Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard
Library
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schnappi/5930145952/sizes/l/in/photostrea
m/

21. Check for CRAP
 Authority
 Can you determine who
the author/creator is?
 What are their
credentials (education,
affiliation, experience,
etc.)?
 Who is the publisher or
sponsor of the work/site?
 Is this publisher/sponsor
reputable
Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard
Library
http://rantchick.com/a-doctrine-on-respect/

22. Check for CRAP
 Purpose/Point of
View
 Is the content
primarily opinion?
 Is the information
balanced or
biased?
 What is the purpose
of the information? Is
it to inform, teach,
sell, entertain or
persuade
Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard
Library
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/5484085301/sizes
/m/in/photostream/

23. Analyze your Website
 Enter your CRAP analysis on the online
worksheet

24. Thanks for listening!
 Next class:
 Fill out Part I on your paper worksheet
 “Read” and prepare for discussion
 Use your keywords to find books/articles

25. Questions?
 Feel free to contact me:
 Laksamee Putnam
 lputnam@towson.edu
 410.704.3746.
 Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU
 Or any reference librarian:
 Visit Cook Library Reference Desk
 410.704.2462.
 IM – tucookchat