STEP TWO: INFORMATION SEEKING STRATEGIES
	Once the information problem has been identified, the next step is to determine the words and phrases that will be used to search for information and the identification of possible information sources. At this stage, students need to be able to: Identify key words and concepts, subject headings and descriptors List a range of possible information sources in different formats Understand the importance of using more than one source of information Search library catalogs to select potential information sources Search online databases to select potential information sources Understand the difference between Internet search tools: search engines, directories, and meta (or mega) search engines Refine searches by broadening or narrowing as appropriate STRATEGIES Use a general reference source such as an encyclopedia to identify key words and phrases. Use a library catalog to perform a key word search. Identify subject headings used in the library catalog. Identify descriptors used in the catalog such as geographic place names and dates. These descriptors will help to narrow your search. Use a range of different Internet search tools to conduct online searches. Use Boolean operators to expand or narrow searches. These include the words and, or, and not. For example, if you structure your search as dolphins and not Miami, you will search for marine mammals and eliminate sources that include information on the Miami Dolphins football team. A search for heart and disease will locate sources that include both terms. ***NEW--Use Boolify to see this in action. Enclose words inside of quotation marks to conduct a phrase search and use the plus (+) sign without a space before another word or phrase to add a search element. For example “Henry Ford” +“Model T” will narrow a search and make it more specific than a search for Henry Ford alone. Use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard to include more than one possible search term. An asterisk added to a root word will search for all possible endings with that word. For example, whal* will search for whale, whales, whaling, and whalers. Keep track of search terms that are successful. It is likely that the same combination of words will work in different sources.