Locating the Best Resources
Before you start looking for information, try this reliability tutorial
Books
Pick the best books
You need to compare a variety of resources to decide which are the BEST ONES FOR YOU.
Use ALICE the Library's catalogue to find books on your topic.
There is a link to ALICE on the desktop of the PCs in the Library.
If you are not sure how to find fact books in the Library, use the Dewey tutorial .
Pick the 3 best books to start with and use others later.
Finding information in books
Fact books usually have a contents page at the front and an index at the back.
Use your keywords to find the information you need.
Is the book :
- at the right level for you?
- up to date?
- easy to use ?
- well illustrated?
Most important - Does the book answer your questions?
Internet
Pick the best search engine.
Noodlebib - Helps you choose the best search engine for your need.
Clusty - sorts your results into folders
Kartoo – shows the results as a mind map
Teoma - has links to expert resources
If you are having problems with searching, try this searching tutorial.
Choose your keywords
Use a dictionary or thesaurus to help yoou find keywords. Try Visuwords to get ideas.
| Be specific - Picasso not painters |
| Use quotation marks round phrases "acid rain" |
| Put + in front of words you want |
| Put - in front of words you don't want |
| Leave out the, a, in, on, by, etc |
| Don't just put in your question and expect an answer |
If you are having trouble with keywords, try these tutorials: -
If you are not finding what you need using keywords, try Google directory or Open Directory and browse through the headings to find your topic.
Pick the best sites
There are millions of pages out there. WHICH ARE THE BEST ONES FOR YOU?
A good site should be :
- easy to find
- easy to use
- easy to read
- easy to move around
Does it answer your questions?
Can you understand the information on the site?
Is the producer of the website trustworthy ?
Are there pictures, maps, diagrams etc?
Is it up-to-date?
Is it biased?
Is it trying to sell something?
Try a quiz at QUICK to see how good you are at spotting the best sources of information.
If you want to become an expert, try this check your sources tutorial.
Do the Locating information quiz, and then move on to Using information.
P L U S