Search Strategies

As far as databases go, I would say I have evolved a lot over the years in terms of researching for papers. Of course when the internet was introduced my internet searches remained strictly with Google. As I became older and more of a serious student, the preferred databases I would explore for research included NexisLexis and Webquest. These databases were very helpful, however, I much prefer books that I can get my hands on and actually smell the pages. I have always preferred a visit to the local library as opposed to an online article. I think part of the reason for that is lack of experience. In both of our readings for today it is mentioned how users of these programs have to get in the habit of checking their Bloglines or Google Reader daily. I think I need to use them more often instead of attempting to avoid them altogether in attempt to remain comfortable with the familiar.

Now that I am the proud owner of a Bloglines subscription I can see how helpful it really can be. My goal is to check and update my site every day. This will also help me to be able to sift through and find the valid and credible articles or readings. It is easy for me to sift out credible articles on the databases I’m used to using. When I search for an article all of the information on that article pops up right in front for you. You can see where the article was published, who the author is, and why the author is qualified to write this article. You can even see other articles written by this author with one click of the mouse. That is my concern with switching to an RSS feed. How will I know if the author of an article is credible if all I know is the author’s name? Will I have to do searches to find out if my resources are valid? I think would get easier to determine validity of sources if I was a user of RSS feeds for more than the four days I have been experimenting with it. As with everything else, I’m sure it would get easier with practice.

Based on my experience I think I would teach students to use RSS to gain effective search strategies. This is an example of a place where students themselves will have to sift through all sorts of information to determine which is the most relevant to them and why. Because of all the capabilities of these feeds and bookmarking sites, it is possible for me to tag certain sites that I believe are relevant to the students and be a guide to help them through this learning process. This way students would be involved in their searching process rather than have an authority figure tell them what is and isn’t a relevant source.