Search Strategies Inventory - Directions

• Minimum of seven (7) different college-level search strategies must be tried & listed, and the results yielded by each search strategy must also be described.

Resources:  College-level LIB 127 Informational Research skills, BR 2a "How Do I Explore My Topic" and BR Part III: "Collecting Information" search strategies recommended in BR chapters 8, 9, 10, 11.

Directions:  Review Research Proposal Directions for Part 3.B, and use your Research Proposal Part 3B to start a numbered list of search strategies you've used in a new Search Strategies Inventory document.   Then keep adding search strategies and results to your inventory as as regular part of your research/notetaking process.

• A minimum of 7 different college-level search strategies must be used and included in your numbered list for a passing grade.  Your goal is to convince Cora that you have college-level informational search skills and that you have used them diligently to locate as many valuable sources on your topic as possible to build a solid research base by Week #7;
• Under each search strategy listed in your Search Strategies Inventory, you must also state the RESULTS. 

Prep Assignments: Preliminary Draft of Search Strategies Inventory (1 readable paper copy) and  Workshop #3 (on Preliminary Drafts) - See WR 123 Course Plan for relevant deadlines.

Search Strategies Inventory - Some Examples

Search Strategy 1.  Knowledgeable person(s) in the field of my research topic: 
Dr. Mann, an ADD specialist at High Lakes Medical Center.
Results:  Dr. Mann advised me to review the history of stimulants, especially Dexedrine, on how these drugs became treatments for Attention-Deficit Disorder.  He also recommended some web sites, including http://brainresearch.com (see "Brain Research" documented in my Annotated Working Bibliography)

Search Strategy 2. World Wide Web Search Engine: Google Scholar
I used the search terms ADD and ADHD.
Results: I found several published articles available online, including the government web document by Katz (2002) documented in my Annotated Working Bibliography.
. . . .

Search Strategy 5. Deschutes Country Public Library Catalog
Results: I found no useful sources relevant to my topic.

Search Strategy 6. COCC Library Online Catalog,  including holdings in
COCC Library's Reference Collection and Audio-Visual materials Collection.
Results: I found one very valuable reference work of the American Psychiatric Association (2000), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of of Mental Disorders (documented in my Annotated Working Bibliography).  I also found 2 videotapes, but after I reviewed them I decided they were not very useful (and are not included in my Annotated Working Bibliography).

Search Strategy 7: Summit (Orbis Cascades Alliance) Online Catalog
When I couldn't find one of the books recommended by Dr. Mann in COCC Barber Library Online Catalog, I used the link to Summit and found a goldmine!
Results:  I requested through Summit and obtained not only the book Dr. Mann recommended--Wender (2000), ADHD: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults--but also several other useful books documented in my Annotated Working Bibliography. 

Search Strategy 8: COCC Barber Library Reference Librarian
While in the COCC Barber Library searching online catalogs, I also asked a reference librarian for help deciding which library subscription databases to search on my topic.
Results: She recommended several health related online databases (including online specialized dictionaries & encyclopedias), as well as more general but useful databases like  CQ Researcher and Opposing Viewpoints, and helped me figure out how to search databases more efficiently.  
. . . .

Search Strategy 11: COCC Subscription Database: CQ Researcher
I started browsing topics: Health Issues, then did a Quick Search on search term ADHD.
Results: I found a very useful Full Report compiled by Kathy Koch on "Rethinking Ritalin" (documented in my Annotated Working Bibliography)  with excellent information on several aspects of my topic (the full report is 29 pages in length if printed), as well as leads to many more sources. 
. . . .