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05 Step Two: Know the Technology, Know Where to Look (Effective Information Searching)




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This article is from the Information Research FAQ, by David Novak david@spireproject.com with numerous contributions by others.

05 Step Two: Know the Technology, Know Where to Look (Effective Information Searching)

Research rests on understanding the technology and an awareness of the
resources. In the example above, a directory of associations does
exist. Here in Australia it is the "Directory of Australian
Associations", found in most important Australian libraries. The
Australian "Department of Education" has a major interest in promoting
exceptional children. In Western Australia, Infolink, a community
information service, should have a record of major community groups for
exceptional students. I have no direct knowledge of umbrella
organizations or specialist libraries, though I expect both the
education department and Infolink would. A quick search of some large
libraries may help us find some of the pamphlets.

Knowing of specific resources is helpful. It is great if you live next
door to the president of Mensa. You have easy access to someone
knowledgeable, able to give his or her take on the situation.

Knowing the tools to help you find resources, the meta-resources, is
vital. So what if we do not know exceptional students come under the
Department of Education. Do we know who to ask to find the government
department involved? If you do not know of the directory of
associations, who or where would you look for one? Being unfamiliar
with meta-resources is a serious handicap - you will find yourself
searching hours for something a professional would do on the phone
while drinking coffee.

Keep in mind the Spire Project is dedicated to providing you some of
this experience. Our web articles should suggest directions to look.
But there are limits to how we can help. At some point you simply must
sit down with the Kompass Directory, or the Gale Directory of
Databases, or the Australian Bureau of Statistics library, and become
familiar with getting to all the relevant information.

Another must, for all searching, is experience searching electronic
databases with complex research queries - a difficult task only made
better with practice. As a general rule, if you don't use Fields,
Proximity and Boolean search terms, you are doing it wrong. Most people
do it wrong.

 

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