Videos are specific to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries and are used for general information purposes only. For specific information about how to use the CLTCC catalog, please refer to the Library Orientation LibGuide at https://cltcclibrary.cltcc.edu/Library_Services and download the CLTCC BobCat Library Orientation sheet or contact the librarian at 318.487.5443 ext. 1137.
Videos are specific to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries and are used for general information purposes only. For specific information about how to use the CLTCC catalog, please refer to the Library Orientation LibGuide at https://cltcclibrary.cltcc.edu/Library_Services and download the CLTCC BobCat Library Orientation sheet or contact the librarian at 318.487.5443 ext. 1137.
More About: Keywords
One of the best ways to improve your research results is to build a list of keywords. Sometimes it can be difficult to tap into the right words that will lead you to the information you need. Try the following strategy:
Example Topic:
Should college athletes be paid to play?
| Keywords | College | Athlete | Pay |
| Synonyms | university | sports | salary |
| collegiate | basketball | money | |
| higher education | players | compensation |
You may also want to use one of the brainstorming apps listed here.
Pariser, Eli. “Beware Online ‘Filter Bubbles.’” Ted, Ted, Mar. 2011, www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles?language=en.
What does relevance mean in an era of tailored search results?
While many of us have come to expect relevant search results as part of any web or app search, evaluating the relevance of search results for a college paper requires critical evaluation skills.
Popular Searches
While a restaurant app like Yelp can give you a list of local places to eat, keep in mind that your zip code is a mediating factor in this search. Your zip code limits the results thus building relevance into the search results.
Likewise, you may see ads in Facebook or Amazon.com that seem related to your latest status update or product search. In this case the mediating factor is your FB status or a DVD you recently browsed. But, imagine if you changed one of those mediating factors. If you searched for “Sandburg” using Google in a Milwaukee zip code, the first hit will be “Carl Sandburg Hall”. If you were to do this search in Chicago, the first several results will be about Carl Sandburg’s poetry.
Scholarly Searches
In academic research, popularity and location are not necessarily effective or useful ways to mediate a search. This is why we focus on selecting a set of search terms that will lead to the best results. In academic research, you will choose your vocabulary carefully to build mediating factors into your search, evaluate the results for relevance to your topic and then edit your search with new or different vocabularies as you continue searching.
This guide is based on the Information Literacy Tutorial from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Information Literacy Tutorial by Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. Based on a work at https://guides.library.uwm.edu/infolit.
Thank you to UW-Milwaukee Golda Meir Library for content and inspiration.