Things to remember when searching for your sources:

Use Search strings made up of keywords, or related terms to get the most out of your searches,

For example if you were doing “The Little Mermaid”;

  • Keywords or related terms could include: 
    • The Little Mermaid
    • Little Mermaid
    • Water
    • Magic
    • Body language
    • Hans Christian Andersen
    • Feminism
  • Your search strings could look like:
    • AND: Searches both of your search terms or keywords
      • Fairy tales AND Elements
      • Fairy tales AND Deconstruction
      • Little Mermaid AND Feminism
      • Little Mermaid AND Water
    • OR: searches any or all search terms or keywords
      • The Little Mermaid OR Little Mermaid 
      • Fairy Tales OR Folk Tales
    • NOT: excludes irrelevant results
      • Folk Tales NOT Mythology
    • “QUOTATIONS”: to search for a phrase
      • “Once upon a time” 
      • “They all lived Happily Ever After”
    • You can also use asterisks* and Question marks? to open up your searches by searching all spellings of the words.
      • Dwar* = Dwarves or Dwarfs  

Things to remember when picking your resources.

Always evaluate your sources by using the C.R.A.P evaluation system.

Current: Is the information current? When was it published?

Reliable: Is the information reliable? Where has the information come from?

Authority: Who is the author or creator? What are their qualifications, affiliations or experience? Are they an 

Purpose: What is the purpose of the information? Who is it intended for and why was it published? Is it biased?

Having trouble?
Contact the library

Humphries, J. (2020). Evaluating Information [Study notes]. INF211/406 Research Skills Guide: Introduction Interact 2. https://tinyurl.com/y3sg6np3

Humphries, J. (2020). Strategic Searching [Study notes]. INF211/406 Research Skills Guide: Introduction Interact 2. https://tinyurl.com/y3sg6np3

The purpose of this page is to provide easy to follow ideas of how to search for resources effectively and the best way to evaluate a resource properly. It also contains a link to the contact the library page to assist the students.