Transcript Recognizing relevant information

st
The 21
Century
Information Fluency
Project
Jan Adams
CESA 10 IMC
August 2007
21st Century Information
Fluency Project
http://21cif.imsa.edu/
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The goal is to build the capacity of librarians,
educators and students in Illinois to
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Locate
Evaluate
Ethically use digital information resources
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Funded by the US Department of Education
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3-5 year project to work with 1200 schools
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Create a national model
21st Century Information Fluency
21st Century Information Fluency is a
sub-set of Information Literacy
and Technology Literacy
“Fluency” rather than “literacy” more than basic abilities
Traditional
Library Skills
Technology
Skills
Digital natives
What “digital natives” don’t
do particularly well
What they tend to do instead
Turn a question into a query
Rush ahead toward an answer, either
grabbing the whole question “as is” or
missing an important part of it
Choose the right database
Enter words or phrases into Google
Recognize relevant information when
they find it
Rush past important information and clues,
continue to browse
Find better keywords as they search
Stick with their original words and browse
Verify the credibility of information
Accept what they find at face value, hoping
somewhere in the information there is an
answer
Photograph used by permission of cesarastudillo's photos, 2007. Attribution-ShareAlike license 2.0.
Translating a question into
a query
Verifying the
credibility of
information
Finding better keywords
Selecting the best
database
Recognizing relevant
information
Search strategies
Subject
Directory
Search
Engine
Searching the Google index – not live…
Browsing
Actually going out to the “live” Internet
Browser tip: page searching
Ctlr+F
Use the Find Command to locate a
term you are looking for on a
web page.
Today’s agenda
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Translating question to query
 Activity
Selecting an adequate database
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Recognizing relevant information
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Finding better keywords
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Using operators effectively
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Evaluating credibility
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Explore Full Circle Resource kit
 Login as educator
Explore Full Circle Resource kits
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We will be working as students
No login required
Let’s get started by bookmarking!
http://21cif.imsa.edu/
Bookmark- http://21cif.imsa.edu/
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Click on IMSA full circle resource kit
in the middle of the page
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Scroll down to Web Resources
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Click on Resource Kit Indices Bookmark this page!
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Click on Public Index
Bookmark this page!
Translating a
question into a query
Translating a question into a query
Research findings from IMSA
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36% recognized the optimal query from a list
of three queries
31% understand that search engines perform
literal matching
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17% regularly use natural language queries
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12% misinterpreted the research question
Translating a question into a query
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Start with a question or a problem.
Task: Translate natural language into
language that is understood by a search
engine.
Search engines differ, but what works on one
tends to work on others.
Search engines perform a variety of literal
matching functions with Boolean and special
operators.
Question to query checklist
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How many important ideas are in the question?
How many key concepts will I search for?
What keywords are effective “as is?”
Which concepts require hyponyms or
professional language?
Are there words that have multiple meanings?
Are stop words or clutter words included?
Are words spelled correctly?
Are the most important words first?
Translating a question into a query
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Which is the most effective query for
“find the top speed of earth's fastest
animal”?
Go to a your
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speed fastest animal
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what is earth’s fastest animal
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top speed earth’s fastest animal
favorite search
engine and try
each one…
Search challenge: Great Wall
Who first claimed that China’s Great
Wall can be identified from space?
°Go to: Public Index
°Find the Great Wall Challenge
Tip: Ctrl-F and great
Note: New windows open
Search challenge: continue
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Try other Keyword Challenges
Selecting the
best database
Selecting the best database
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Failures occurs before submitting the first
query.
Task: Predict where expert information may
be found.
No search engine performs a live Internet
search when you submit a query. (Otherwise,
how could they come back with a page that’s not found?)
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Select appropriate database/search engine
(Deep Web)
Selecting the best database
Research Findings from IMSA
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90% search with Google more than half of
the time.
32% use Google exclusively.
Selecting the best database
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Who would know the answer I am looking
for?
Where would I find that expert?
Use Google/Yahoo to get there and then
use the proprietary search engine to go
farther.
Find a relevant database by using
keywords in combination with subject key
words
 Database
 Archive
 Repository
Strategies for deep web searching
Invisible Web Video
http://21cif.imsa.edu/tutorials/micro/mm/invisible/video/invisible_web.htm
Database challenge tutorial
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Go to the Public Index
Play “Can Google google it?”
(Archery Challenge 2)
 Try
another Database
Challenge!
Strategies for deep web searching
How many movies has John Williams, the
classical guitarist, scored?
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Go to Resource Kit Indices
Search the SWICKI for Williams
Select John Williams Movie Challenge
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Keywords: ?? + database
Strategies for deep web searching
What airplane finished the Sport
Qualifying race in second place at the
Reno Air Races, September 11, 2002?
Go to Public Index
 Try the Reno Air Race Challenge
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Keywords: ?? + database
Recognizing relevant
information
Recognizing relevant information
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This failure occurs when a student looks at
the results returned by a search engine.
Task: Match findings with expectations and
evaluate relevance.
Computers are made for speed, which
encourages haste.
Hyperlinks and graphics can be distracting.
Recognizing relevant information
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Go to the Public Index
Practice effective scanning using one of the
Gold Rush activities
Use Snippet Sleuth to practice reading
snippets carefully.
Finding better keywords
Finding better keywords
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This failure occurs throughout the search
process: before the initial query is submitted
and as students look at the results returned by
a search engine.
Task: Select and try increasingly specific
keywords.
Effective keywords go unnoticed in snippets.
Effective searching is dependent on keyword
selection.
Finding better keywords
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Go to Public Index
Use Snowsport II and find more
keywords in snippets
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Try the Kermit the Frog Challenge
Using operators effectively
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This failure occurs while building a query.
Task: Increase the effectiveness of
keywords with Boolean and special
operators
Students generally do not use operators,
but when they do, they tend to use them
inappropriately.
Using operators effectively
Research Findings from IMSA
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36% used AND incorrectly
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60% misused the OR operator
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54% misused the “ ” operator (using it
with only one word or with words that
would be more effective with AND or OR)
Using operators effectively
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Go to Public Index
Use Pirates and Piranhas to practice with
operators
Listen to the Operators Tutorial
Click on Audio
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Verifying the
credibility of
information
Evaluating credibility
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This failure occurs after information has been
located.
Task: Check the credibility of the information
and its source
Students often forego this decision and
uncritically accept whatever information they
find
Evaluating credibility
Should I keep searching?
(Revision Decision)
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Evaluate the
Source
 Author
 Publisher
 Bias
 Links From
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Evaluate the
Content
 Evidence
 Accuracy
 Date
 Links To
Evaluating credibility
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Go to Public Index
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Use the Evaluation Wizard
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Use Flash MicroModule Companions you may
want to also look at the review information
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Author
Publisher
Links to (who links to this page?)
Bias
Evaluating credibility
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Try a Use It? or Lose It? evaluation
challenge
Evaluate Golf Cross or another Bad
Apple using a techniques covered this
morning.
Ethical use
Ethical Use
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Go to Public Index
Try
several of the Flash MicroModule
Companions related to ethical use:
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Flash
Flash
Flash
Flash
MicroModule
MicroModule
MicroModule
MicroModule
Companions:
Companions:
Companions:
Companions:
Copyright
Citation
Plagiarism 1
Plagiarism 2
Explore Full Circle Resource Kit
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As an educator – join or login
Check out other resources.
What practical strategy or
information did you learn today
that you can share?
Source: 21st Century Information Fluency Project
Illinois Mathematics and Science
August 2007
Create a personalized search engine
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Use Google Coop
http://google.com/coop/cse/Google coop