[CASL-L] Booleon search terms - do you teach them?

[Cathy Andronik]

 I think Boolean searching works better in databases than it does on the internet, just because of the way the two are set up to search.
A high school English teacher called me in to help her class.  The students were creating TED-type talks about the subject of their choosing.  They were required to include, I believe, at least three sources from databases.  Many of the topics were VERY specific (along the lines of "academic achievement of African American children growing up in urban single-parent families")--things where databases sent them in wrong directions very easily because of one inaccurate search term, and many hits on the internet were anecdotal or short memoirs rather than solid facts and statistics.  The teacher realized the students' questions were above her expertise with our databases; I sat in on a research session for a few minutes and realized that Boolean searching would help enormously.  That assignment probably led to the most genuine appreciation I'd ever gotten from our students.  I still use as an example the debate I had with a student on a video clip she wanted to use for her report on . . . I forget the details, something about the health effects of hydration.  She wanted to use a Youtube clip of a guy in a tricked out convertible telling the person behind the camera how much he was enjoying a drink of water.  I asked what point she was trying to make with that particular video; her point was more academic and health-centered, and I challenged car-guy's credentials for reliability.  Interesting discussion.
Hope this helps.
Cathy AndronikRetired (Brien McMahon HS, Norwalk)
    On Monday, 30 January 2023 at 11:20:11 am GMT-6, Loretta Sullivan <b59lgian at mpspride.org> wrote:  
 
 Hello everyone,

I wanted to know if you teach Booleon search terms (and,or, not) for more effective searching when using keywords?  Can someone clarify for me (I feel awful about not knowing) why when trying these search terms they do not always work?  Are they only effective when using databases vs. using a search engine to look something up?  My TIS and I were trying them in hopes of helping students learn these strategies, but did not find anything that worked the way we wanted when we tried them.  Am I missing something?  Thanks for your help!
Respectfully,
Loretta SullivanLibrary Media Specialist
Bennet AcademyManchester, CT
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