Mlchael A.

8odrlguez
november 2013
Lesson |an:
Databases and Advanced Search 1echn|ques for n|story Ma[ors
Aud|ence
22 upper-level college sLudenLs ma[orlng ln dlverse flelds aL llorlda Culf CoasL unlverslLy

1|me Needed
43 mlnuLes

Mater|a|s
lor sLudenLs, desks, chalrs, wrlLlng lnsLrumenLs, a dry-erase marker, and a whlLeboard
lor lnsLrucLor, a compuLer, pro[ecLor and screen, owerolnL, lnLerneL connecLlon, and
30 prlnLed pages (23 handouLs and 23 qulzzes for sLudenL use).
We wlll vlslL Lhe followlng onllne caLalogs and daLabases durlng class: Lhe lCCu Llbrary's
CAC, !"#$%&'()"#*, !"#$%&'( ,-#.(./'#01, and 20'%/3-0 4/'#01 &"35$/(/.

Goa|s
SLudenLs wlll assess daLabases besL sulLed Lo Lhelr research needs and dlscover how Lo
cusLomlze searches uslng 8oolean operaLors and oLher advanced Lechnlques.

Cb[ect|ves
a) 1hrough lecLure and a humorous vldeo, sLudenLs wlll recognlze Lhe usefulness of
llbrary resources and advanced searches-an ouLcome Lo be assessed ln a flnal
wrlLLen qulz ln whlch aL leasL 80 of sLudenLs wlll self-reporL LhaL Lhey are more
llkely Lo use glven resources ln Lhe fuLure Lhan Lhey were prlor Lo Lhe lesson.
b) lollowlng a Lhlnk-palr-share acLlvlLy, brlef sLudenL whlLeboard presenLaLlons,
and dlscusslon of daLabase feaLures, aL leasL 80 of sLudenLs wlll be able Lo
ldenLlfy Lhree key feaLures of quallLy daLabases on a wrlLLen flnal qulz.
c) lollowlng lecLure and demonsLraLlon, aL leasL 80 of sLudenLs wlll be able Lo
ldenLlfy Lhe purpose and Lhe symbols used Lo conducL LruncaLed, wlldcard, and
exacL phrase searches-ouLcomes Lo be assessed vla a wrlLLen flnal qulz.
d) lollowlng lecLure and demonsLraLlons (lncludlng a sklL) by Lhe lnsLrucLor, 80 of
sLudenLs wlll be able Lo recognlze and apply 8oolean operaLors-an ouLcome Lo
be assessed vla a Lhlnk-palr-share acLlvlLy, ln whlch each group wlll generaLe an
orlglnal 8oolean search model, and a flnal qulz, ln whlch sLudenLs wlll be asked
Lo lnserL Lhe approprlaLe 8oolean operaLors lnLo a model search query.
e) lollowlng lecLure and demonsLraLlon by Lhe lnsLrucLor, sLudenLs wlll be able Lo
dlfferenLlaLe beLween WorldCaL llrsLsearch and WorldCaL.org and ldenLlfy Lhe
besL uses for Lhese unlon caLalogs-ouLcomes Lo be assessed vla a flnal qulz.

Standards (ACkL's Informat|on L|teracy Competency Standards for n|gher Lducat|on)
4('6%'#% 78"9
1he lnformaLlon llLeraLe sLudenL accesses needed lnformaLlon effecLlvely and efflclenLly.
2.1 1he lnformaLlon llLeraLe sLudenL selecLs Lhe mosL approprlaLe lnvesLlgaLlve meLhods
or lnformaLlon reLrleval sysLems for accesslng Lhe needed lnformaLlon.
:;(0"3/. <60$;%/9
a. ldenLlfles approprlaLe lnvesLlgaLlve meLhods (e.g., laboraLory experlmenL,
slmulaLlon, fleldwork)
b. lnvesLlgaLes beneflLs and appllcablllLy of varlous lnvesLlgaLlve meLhods
c. lnvesLlgaLes Lhe scope, conLenL, and organlzaLlon of lnformaLlon reLrleval
sysLems
d. SelecLs efflclenL and effecLlve approaches for accesslng Lhe lnformaLlon needed
from Lhe lnvesLlgaLlve meLhod or lnformaLlon reLrleval sysLem
2.2 1he lnformaLlon llLeraLe sLudenL consLrucLs and lmplemenLs effecLlvely-deslgned
search sLraLegles.
:;(0"3/. <60$;%/9
a. uevelops a research plan approprlaLe Lo Lhe lnvesLlgaLlve meLhod
b. ldenLlfles keywords, synonyms and relaLed Lerms for Lhe lnformaLlon needed
c. SelecLs conLrolled vocabulary speclflc Lo Lhe dlsclpllne or lnformaLlon reLrleval
source
d. ConsLrucLs a search sLraLegy uslng approprlaLe commands for Lhe lnformaLlon
reLrleval sysLem selecLed (e.g., 8oolean operaLors, LruncaLlon, and proxlmlLy for
search englnes, lnLernal organlzers such as lndexes for books)
4('6%'#% 71#//9
1he lnformaLlon llLeraLe sLudenL evaluaLes lnformaLlon and lLs sources crlLlcally and
lncorporaLes selecLed lnformaLlon lnLo hls or her knowledge base and value sysLem.
3.6 1he lnformaLlon llLeraLe sLudenL valldaLes undersLandlng and lnLerpreLaLlon of Lhe
lnformaLlon Lhrough dlscourse wlLh oLher lndlvlduals, sub[ecL-area experLs, and/or
pracLlLloners.
:;(0"3/. <60$;%/9
a. arLlclpaLes ln classroom and oLher dlscusslons

Mot|vat|on
lnsLrucLor wlll show a one-mlnuLe ?ou1ube vldeo called SLudy Llke A Scholar, Scholar,"
feaLurlng Lhe new Splce Cuy" (a parody of Lhe deodoranL commerclal), and creaLed
by 8rlgham ?oung unlverslLy Lo adverLlse llbrary servlces and resources Lo sLudenLs.
1hls vldeo wlll serve as a humorous preamble Lo Lhe lnsLrucLor's explanaLlon of how
knowledge of daLabases and use of sophlsLlcaLed searches can help sLudenLs Lo save
Llme, flnd quallLy sources, and earn hlgher grades on Lhelr upcomlng research paper.

L|brar|an Act|v|t|es
a) 1he lnsLrucLor wlll play rouslng Carlbbean dance muslc before Lhe sLarL of class.
b) lollowlng professor's lnLroducLlon, Lhe lnsLrucLor wlll greeL Lhe class and share a
blL abouL hlmself, breaklng Lhe lce Lo creaLe a welcomlng learnlng envlronmenL.
c) 8y sharlng Lhe resulLs of Lhe compeLency assessmenL from Lhe prevlous week,
asklng follow-up quesLlons of sLudenLs, and explalnlng Lhe lesson's ob[ecLlves,
Lhe lnsLrucLor wlll assess sLudenLs' knowledge base regardlng llbrary daLabases
and search meLhods whlle preparlng sLudenLs for lnsLrucLlon (anLlclpaLory seLs).
d) 1he lnsLrucLor wlll play a comlcal vldeo (SLudy Llke a Scholar") Lo Lhe class, Lhen
brlefly explaln, glvlng personal examples, how skllled use of llbrary resources and
servlces (Lhe PlsLory LlbCulde, Ask A Llbrarlan, eLc.) can help sLudenLs save Llme
and money and earn Lop grades on upcomlng research papers (moLlvaLlon).
e) lnsLrucLor wlll ask sLudenLs Lo break up lnLo palrs or groups, ldenLlfy Lwo favorlLe
daLabases, and explaln why Lhose daLabases are so useful. lnsLrucLor wlll ask for
volunLeers Lo wrlLe Lhe name of each daLabase on Lhe whlLeboard and Lo share
each group's ldeas wlLh Lhe class. 1he lnsLrucLor wlll Lhen lead a dlscusslon as Lo
whaL feaLures make a hlgh-quallLy daLabase (and how Lo deflne hlgh-quallLy").
f) lnsLrucLor wlll explaln and demonsLraLe sophlsLlcaLed search Lechnlques-exacL
phrases, LruncaLlon, wlldcards, and 8oolean operaLors-Lo Lhe class by searchlng
Lhe lCCu llbrary's CAC and 20'%/3-0 4/'#01 &"35$/(/. Search Lerms: PalLlan
8evoluLlon," nlcola looL*, Lrl* SLra#orn, buccaneers Anu C8 nC1 plraLes.
g) lnsLrucLor wlll brlefly show !"#$%&'()"#* and !"#$%&'( ,-#.(./'#01 Lo Lhe class,
explalnlng Lhe dlfferences beLween Lhese Lwo unlon caLalogs. 1he lnsLrucLor wlll
search for nlcola looLe's &'#-==/'6 >-.("#? @/'%/# as an example relevanL Lo Lhe
class. lnsLrucLor wlll explaln how Lo geL Lhe mosL from each sysLem (vlew llbrary
holdlngs vla !"#$%&'()"#* and place lnLerllbrary loans dlrecLly vla ,-#.(./'#01).
h) lnsLrucLor wlll recap crlLlcal polnLs and admlnlsLer flnal assessmenL Lo Lhe class.
Ludovlco Llnaudl's classlcal muslc wlll be played whlle sLudenLs Lake Lhe qulz.

Student Act|v|t|es
SLudenLs wlll Lake compeLencles assessmenL qulz Lwo weeks ln advance of class.
SLudenLs wlll llsLen Lo lecLure, vlew demos, Lake noLes, revlew Lhe handouL, and
parLlclpaLe ln class dlscusslons and C & A LhroughouL Lhe lnsLrucLlon sesslon.
1wlce durlng Lhe lnsLrucLlonal sesslon (once for Lhe daLabase module and agaln
for Lhe module on 8oolean operaLors), sLudenLs wlll form 2- or 3-person Leams
Lo conducL a Lhlnk-palr-share exerclse. AfLerward, volunLeers wlll wrlLe on Lhe
whlLeboard and presenL each group's flndlngs orally Lo Lhe whole class.
SLudenLs wlll lndlvldually compleLe Lhe flnal assessmenL qulz.

rofessor Act|v|t|es
rofessor who normally Leaches Lhe class wlll lnLroduce Lhe lnsLrucLor aL sLarL of
class. 1hereafLer, she wlll slL among Lhe sLudenLs, funcLlonlng as observer only.

Lva|uat|on
lnsLrucLor wlll grade Lhe flnal assessmenL qulz ln one-polnL lncremenLs ouL of 10
(CuesLlon #7, on 8oolean operaLors, ls worLh Lwo polnLs), Lhen LoLal up all Lhe
scores, and dlvlde by Lhe number of sLudenLs who Look Lhe qulz. 1he quoLlenL
wlll be Lhe average score (ouL of 10) for Lhe class. 1he class wlll be deemed
successful lf Lhe class scores an average of 8/10 (80) or hlgher.
























Append|x A: re-Instruct|on Assessment

1. What |s your age range?
a. under 18
b. 18-23
c. 23-33
d. over 33
S. nave you ever used 8oo|ean operators?
a. ?es
b. no
2. Wh|ch of the fo||ow|ng are you?
a. lreshman
b. Sophomore
c. !unlor
d. Senlor
6. W|th what webs|tes]databases]search
too|s do you usua||y start your research?

3. What |s your ma[or? |ease wr|te
your answer be|ow.



4. What |s your m|nor? |ease wr|te
your answer be|ow.
7. C|rc|e the names of any of the fo||ow|ng
databases that you have used to conduct
research (for th|s c|ass or any other c|ass).
a. WorldCaL.org
b. Academlc Search CompleLe
c. unlverslLy of llorlda ulglLal CollecLlons
d. Coogle Scholar
e. !S1C8




















Append|x 8: ost-Instruct|on Assessment

1. Identify THREE characteristics of quality
databases as discussed in class.



7. You want to locate articles on Napoleon I of
France. However, you want to narrow results
only to those with Napoleon and also Marshal
Grouchy, expand results to include Lefebvre,
and exclude results for Bernadotte.
Using all four names and all three Boolean
operators (AND, OR, NOT), fill in the blanks
with the correct Boolean operators below. Each
Boolean operator will be used only once.

Napoleon ____ Grouchy ____
Lefebvre ____ Bernadotte

2. Which of the following symbols would you
use to search for an exact phrase?
1) Quotation marks
2) Plus/minus signs
3) Parentheses
4) Tildes
8. Which of the following are benefits of using
WorldCat.org? Circle all that apply.
1) Tag and review books
2) Place InterLibrary Loans directly
3) Libraries that own the book ranked
according to which is closest to you
4) Find journal articles
5) Free and open to all
3. Why might you search for an exact phrase?



9. Which of the following is a benefit to using
WorldCat Firstsearch? Circle ONE response.
1) Service costs the university money.
2) Place InterLibrary Loans directly.
3) Find journal articles.
4) Browse library collections.
4. What is the symbol used for truncation?
1) Parentheses ()
2) The number 10
3) An asterisk *
4) A question mark ?
10. What would you like to see covered in
future adaptations of this class session?




5. Why might you truncate a search term?



11. What have you learned from this session?
Please write a brief one-paragraph response.
You may use the back of this paper.
6. Give an example of a wildcard search and
briefly explain why this search can be useful.


12. Are you now more likely to use the below
searches, services, or databases than you were
before this session? Circle all that apply.
1) Boolean operators
2) special searches (truncated, wildcard, etc.)
3) WorldCat.org
4) WorldCat Firstsearch
5) Other (please name):