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Searching with MythBusters



• The Mythbusters Team needs some help.

They are working on their next season andneed to prove or debunk the myths chosen for

the shows. You are the research intern for

Jamie, Adam, & the Mythbusters Team.



• Your job is to research the Myth given in the

assignment portion of this tutorial and either

prove or debunk it by using keywords in the

library databases. Creating a list of keywords

will help you search the topics easier.



So, what are keywords?

• Keywords are words or phrases that searchers enter ina search engine to retrieve desired information.Keywords are selected for their high relevance to acertain topic. Good keywords help us retrieve

information because they are words that eitherdescribe or are used in the documents we’re lookingfor. Good searches depend on:

1. expert keyword selection

2. the ability to evaluate how well those keywords areworking, and

3. flexibility in adapting keywords and search strategieson the fly.



Searching with Keywords

• To begin searching with keywords, we need to

think about the topic of our search.

• When searching, you need to constantly re-

evaluate your query by judging the relevance

of your search results. When you aren’t

getting the desired results, you need to refine

your search.



Using Search Tools

• Sometimes you will need more help when searchingyour topic.

• Using the Search Tools in the EBSCOhost database willhelp you narrow the findings.



Searching with Boolean Operators

• WHAT'S A "BOOLEAN"?

• Boolean logic takes its name from Britishmathematician George Boole (1815-1864), who

wrote about a system of logic designed toproduce better search results by formulatingprecise queries. He called it the "calculus of thought." From his writings, we have derived

Boolean logic and its operators: AND, OR, andNOT, which we use to link words and phrases formore precise queries.

USC Beaufort Library BARE BONES LESSON 8 - http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/lesson8.shtml



BOOLEAN "AND"

• The Boolean AND actually narrows your search by retrieving only documents that contain every oneof the keywords you enter. The more terms you enter, the narrower your search becomes.

EXAMPLE: truth AND justiceEXAMPLE: truth AND justice AND ethics AND congress

BOOLEAN "OR"

• The Boolean OR expands your search by returning documents in which either or both keywordsappear. Since the OR operator is usually used for keywords that are similar or synonymous, themore keywords you enter, the more documents you will retrieve.

EXAMPLE: college OR university EXAMPLE: college OR university OR institution OR campus

BOOLEAN "NOT" / "AND NOT"

• The Boolean NOT or AND NOT (sometimes typed as ANDNOT) limits your search by returning onlyyour first keyword but not the second, even if the first word appears in that document, too.

EXAMPLE: saturn AND NOT carEXAMPLE: pepsi AND NOT coke

NESTING -- WITH BOOLEAN OPERATORS• Nesting, i.e., using parentheses, is an effective way to combine several search statements into one

search statement. Use parentheses to separate keywords when you are using more than oneoperator and three or more keywords.

EXAMPLE: (hybrid OR electric) AND (Toyota OR Honda)(For best results, always enclose OR statements in parentheses.)

USC Beaufort Library Bare Bones Lesson 8 - http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/lesson8.shtml



Let the search begin...

Here are the topics the Mythbusters team needs

you to search...

•

When a cow passes gas (farts), does thiscontribute to global warming? If true, is a cow

the only animal that does contribute?

•

Does the use of a cell phone interfere with thenavigational systems on an airplane? If true,

with what else can the signal interfere?



• Is it hotter in the summer because the Earth is

closer to the sun? If true, are we getting

closer to the sun each year?

• Is chocolate toxic to dogs? If true, is chocolate

toxic to other animals or humans?

• Are we in danger from the chemical

dihydrogen monoxide? If true, how can

people protect themselves?



In your 2 – 3 page paper, include...

• Cite where you found the information supporting ordebunking the Myth using the MLA format.

• List of keywords used for the search.

• Did you need to look into any other resources other thanour databases? If so, where and why?

• Are the Myths True?



To find out more about searching...

• BARE BONES 101: A BASIC TUTORIAL ON

SEARCHING THE WEB:http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.

shtml

• Case Western Tutorials:http://msass.case.edu/harrislibrary/LibStudents/tutorials

/index.html

• McMaster Universityhttp://dotatmac.mcmaster.ca/kw_searching/index.htm

http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml


http://msass.case.edu/harrislibrary/LibStudents/tutorials/index.html


http://dotatmac.mcmaster.ca/kw_searching/index.htm

http://dotatmac.mcmaster.ca/kw_searching/index.htm







Good Luck Team!

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