Google for Academic Research

Transcription

1 Google for Academic Research Before starting: Check in with attendees re: grade level, areas of interest, specific things they want to learn For the board: (HackCollege Google Infographic) Google App Google Documents (Word processor, spreadsheet, forms) Google Reader Google Sites Google Groups Google Takeout Google Dashboard Can be found At top of Google page In more menu under even more > home & office or in DoIT Google suite Google Web ( Navigating Google from the front page more» brings you to a drop down menu listing some of Google s services and tools, including most of the advanced search tools we re using today even more» brings you to an even more extensive list of Google s web applications, including Google Scholar, and Google Patents. Basic Searching Introduce the Google Operators handout and link to Hack College Infographic. Explain that there are a variety of ways to limit a search in Google. Emphasize that: Use quotation marks to retrieve an exact phrase, name, or quotation ( birth order, john dewey ) Word variant searching is automatic ( education will also search educational educated etc.) but by adding a tilde (~) Google will also include synonym searching Very effective to limit a search by domain: site: Demo CO2 algae biofuel Show range of results and synonyms retrieved by Google. Point out the difference between.com and.org sites. Mention PARCA test. Hands-on Search / Subject of their Choice --- using operators of choice (suggestions: ~nutrition). Give workshop participants 2-3 minutes to use the various operators listed on the operators handout. Answer questions as needed. What operators did you use? How did that affect your search? - 1 -

2 CO2 algae ~biofuel site:.gov Demonstrate how efficient it is to limit to a specific government agency and the increased quality of many of the retrieved results. Optional: limit further to site:osti.gov/energycitations Interpreting Search Results Pros: Almost always retrieve something Reports by and about non-profit organizations (Pew Center, UNICEF, etc.) Government documents and reports (Center for Disease Control, Homeland Security) Cons: Link popularity o Popular not necessarily the best (martinlutherking.org) o Relevant not necessarily recent Sponsored links = paid advertising Personalized search results Not all of any kind of document even gov. documents Google search help: Google Privacy I want to take a second here to talk about privacy and information access. If you click at the top between the person and the globe, what you re actually doing is switching between individualized results - results based on your search history and neutral Google results. You can change your settings by turning off web history, under the gear button at the top of the search screen. This is completely a matter of personal preference and comfort level, but it s also something you want to be aware of, as it may skew results or give you different results based on your search history. Optional: Show links to Google privacy page Show Google good to know page Google Scholar ( Accessing Google Scholar from the Libraries Web Site / Setting Preferences If you re affiliated with UW-Madison, you should access Google Scholar from the Libraries Web site. Find Google Scholar listed under the Top 10 link in either the Articles or Databases tab in the main search box. Doing so will ensure that the Find It at UW Madison link appears in Google Scholar and that you can access full text articles, if available. In Google Scholar, use the gear icon to adjust your settings. Under Search Results o Select preferred citation manager If you use RefWorks or EndNote, choose your option in the bibliography section Click Save. Under Library Links o Verify that Find It is enabled. These actions create cookies and are limited to a specific machine (not an account) o If you come from the library website, University of Wisconsin - Madison - Find It at UW Madison - 2 -

3 o Open WorldCat - Library Search should already be enabled. Otherwise, Search UW Madison in the Library Links box Click save. Pros: Convenience Create a Google Scholar Alert for twice weekly updates on new material related to your area of interest Track your own citations or those of your colleagues. Especially useful when searching for more information on a partial citation Cons: Secrecy o Frequency of updates o Coverage Gaps in coverage - 3 -

4 Incomplete Citations (often omit years, issue numbers or journal titles) o Use library databases to find reliable citation information o Use library databases to determine peer-reviewed research Relatively few advanced search options Hands-on Search / Solicit Subject from Class (suggestions: stem cells, intelligent design, role-playing computer games, etc.) Advanced Google Scholar Search Tips: Interpreting your Google Scholar Results Use Find It at UW Madison to locate materials on campus Cited by provides links to works that cite the item (sometimes more than in Web of Knowledge) Related Articles Finds other articles with a similar subject matter BL Direct provides a link to the British Library who will sell you articles; use Interlibrary Loan at UW instead it s free! Import into RefWorks optional setting Google Patents ( Keyword searchable in entire patent history. OCR can be faulty (ex. Harry Houdini as Hakby Hottdini) Hands-on Search / Subject of their Choice (suggestions: biofuel, browse patents on home page) Show a patent record: Patent Summary key citation information about the patent Abstract gives brief overview of patent Citations lists other patents cited by the patent References links you to all the patents that reference the one you re viewing Claims lists the specific claims made by the patent Drawings displays thumbnail links of drawings in the body of the patent Description provides detailed information about the patent and the drawings Google Books ( Google Books is now part of Google Play - 4 -

5 Cons: The items retrieved in Google Books Browse Subjects can be random and unrelated Cannot save searches but can store selected titles in My Library Not helpful for reading current/popular books (copyright issues) Quality control in digitization can be inconsistent Advanced Search Strategies (like Google search, these are located under the gear icon and at bottom of page) Hands-on Search / Solicit Subject from Class (suggestions: CO2 algae biofuel) Interpreting your Google Books Search Results Book overview provides reviews, popular passages, citation information (complete title, ISBN and subject headings), etc. Views o No Preview Not allowed to see any part of the book, does provide citation information o o Snippet view sentences with your search term in context Preview You may be able to access nearly the entire work or merely select pages such as the table of contents and index. Available content can change without notice. o Full View complete access to the content of the book or magazine Find in a Library similar to the Library Search function in Google Scholar. Google Books links to WorldCat where one can search by zip code to locate a copy in the nearest library. WorldCat also provides links giving patrons the option to request the item through interlibrary loan. Search in this book allows the user to search within the book they have selected, one may narrow or focus a search on more specific terms My Library: create personalized libraries in Google Book Search where you can label, review, rate, and of course, full-text search, a customized selection of books. Your library lives online and is accessible when you log in to your account. Google Books in the new library catalog: You may notice that the new library catalog occasionally has a cover photo in some of its records. When the catalog recognizes and matches an ISBN for volumes owned by UW-Madison with those in Google Book, a link - 5 -

6 between the cover and the Google book record appears automatically. By following this link, you may be able to access the digital content or further bibliographic information, and more options for informal interaction (tagging, reviews). Hands-on Search / Solicit Subject from Class in New Catalog (suggestions: CO2 algae biofuel) Google Book Search Help: Other Tools (Optional) Google Reader : Subscription to Engineering or professional blogs; Article database RSS feeds Google Documents (slides, spreadsheets, forms) Through DoIT Google Sites Google Groups Google Takeout Privacy / data management tools Google Dashboard Questions? pod 7/22/