Senior Research Paper Bosler’s Steps 1 &2
Discovering the Best Search Strategies for your Research Topic
using NoodleQuest http://www.noodletools.com/noodlequest/
1. I need help to define my topic…
· I need a topic
· I need to understand the scope of my topic
· I need to investigate alternative or related topics
· I need to refine and narrow my topic
Clusty - Browse clusters of results to help your brainstorming http://clusty.com/
Ask - Select "Narrow Your Search" OR Select "Expand Your Search" (both on the left). Helpful extras for the searcher (suggestions for refining search results, site “preview”) but has a smaller index than Google or Yahoo http://www.ask.com
Google Directory - Browse the volunteer-selected Open Directory enhanced by Google search and relevance ranking http://www.google.com/dirhp
Online NewsHour Special Reports - Browse by news topic (US), country or recent coverage http://www.pbs.org/newshour/special_projects/index.html
Grokker - Explore a web of your topic (Yahoo results), then select a circle (subtopic) to preview and explore alternative topics http://www.grokker.com/
Intute - Retrieve a few high-quality resources selected and annotated by U.K. subject specialists by searching a discipline-specific engine http://www.intute.ac.uk/
2. I need to find quality results…
Librarian’s Index to the Internet - Search or drill down into subject collections of a well-maintained database of sites selected by librarians working in university, public and school libraries. Easy-to-navigate, well-annotated directory of librarian-selected Web sites “you can trust". http://www.lii.org
Virtual Learning Resources Center -Select a subject category before you search on terms or a phrase, then browse articles, documents, databases and gateways