Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources
Overview
This week we continue to focus on precision searching to help us find information on our topic.
To recap: precision searching can be defined as a process in which we structure or plan our search for sources for a particular academic project by taking the following steps to meet our research needs:
- Identify key concepts, keywords, and synonyms.
- Create a search string (i.e., a combination of relevant terms) that is readable by a database and can include phrases as well as truncated terms;
- Search for terms and repeat the search, based on our results, i.e., we might have to change our terms in order to get a set of relevant sources.
Readings
Attridge Bufton, M (2021). Search for sources [Videos]. Carleton University Library.
- Search skills: Do a structured search.
- Search skills: Truncation and phrases.
- Use search engines to find sources: Omni.
Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., Williams, J. M., Bizup, J., & Fitzgerald, W. T. (2016). The craft of research (4th ed.). University of Chicago Press.
- Chapter 5: From problems to sources (pp. 65-84).
Maniotes, L. (2017, July 17). Dr. Carol Kuhlthau Distinguished Professor Emerita talks of her research on the ISP [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/gytquheF7Aw (19:58).
TED. (2011, May 2). Beware online “filter bubbles” | Eli Pariser [Video]. Youtube.
https://youtu.be/B8ofWFx525s. (9:04 minutes)
Before class activities
Key questions to ask while reading and watching
- What steps do I take when I am searching for information?
- How do I feel at each stage of this information searching process?
- What type of sources do I typically use in my academic projects?
- Why do I use these types of sources?
“Pile of words”: Group and label key concepts
Organize into two lists of similar terms and label each list (include definition of each label).
Remember: You may already understand some of these ideas relatively well and others may be new to you—you are encouraged to look up (e.g., in a dictionary or encyclopedia) the unfamiliar concepts in order to create your lists.
Make note of your reasons for grouping the ideas together as you will share them in class. These are self-paced individual activities, for which there are no right or wrong answers. The instructor will not grade this work.
Predict a learning outcome
After class activities
After class, annotate each reading for key ideas. For videos and podcasts, you can annotate the transcript.
Summarize the author’s key ideas from each reading. Highlight the following information:
- Purpose of the reading;
- Scope (the extent of the study);
- Thesis (the main argument[s]);
- Outcome(s) and conclusion.
Respond to the following statement about the readings: do you agree or disagree with the statement and why?
“From the students’ perspective, there are three aspects to their experience. And the feelings are very important. The thinking, of course, is important, and the acting is important. And these are very closely connected. What they’re feeling at the time, affects what they are thinking about, and definitely affects what they decide to do.” (Kuhlthau in Maniotes, 2017)
Did this reading provide any inspiration or insights you can use in this or any of your other classes? If yes, what is the inspiration and/or what are the insights?
