Wednesday Tech Tips: Wolfram Alpha

Copyright: Scott Adams, Inc. 2011. (Dist. by Universal Uclick.)

 

Yeah.  I feel just like Dilbert when trying to understand how Wolfram Alpha works. 

 

Wolfram Alpha is not a Star Trek character, nor is it a search engine: Wolfram Alpha is an answer engine.  These answers are computed from curated data and Wolfram Alpha is only be able to answer a computational query.  Ideally, Wolfram Alpha's work will never be done, as there is always more figuring to do in this world!

The important idea is that it is NEAT-O.  Go and ask something!

Wednesday Tech Tips: Wolfram Alpha

Copyright: Scott Adams, Inc. 2011. (Dist. by Universal Uclick.)

 

Yeah.  I feel just like Dilbert when trying to understand how Wolfram Alpha works. 

 

Wolfram Alpha is not a Star Trek character, nor is it a search engine: Wolfram Alpha is an answer engine.  These answers are computed from curated data and Wolfram Alpha is only be able to answer a computational query.  Ideally, Wolfram Alpha's work will never be done, as there is always more figuring to do in this world!

The important idea is that it is NEAT-O.  Go and ask something!

Wednesday Tech Tips: Databases, Part Two

Have you mastered keyword searching by now?  Okay, let's talk about subject searches.

While a keyword search will ping anything containing your search terms, subject searches will restrict your search to finding those terms in the subject or descriptor field.  It's much more akin to tagging: someone has categorized the information under specific topics.  The tricky part is knowing which terms will regurgitate hits.  Subject headings can be awfully nitpicky.

Here is one of my favorite examples: let's say you are writing a paper on the onset of the Civil War.  If you use "civil war" as your subject search, you will turn up some articles about the War Between the States.

But guess what guys?  Many other countries have gone through (or are currently engaged in) civil wars.  So if you want to be sure that your results will only concern the American Civil War, enter:

United States Civil War, 1861-1865

I know!  It can feel like the search engine expects you to know the information you are asking it to find.  I have no memory for dates, this is where I fail in bar trivia.  The Library of Congress subject heading is even longer: United States, History, Civil War, 1861-1865.


So you are going to have to do a bit of work to find the Open Sesame subject terms that will unlock untold riches of information.  Here are some tricks.

• Some databases, bless their hearts, will display a sidebar of related subject searches when you begin with a keyword search.  So I began with a keyword search for "civil war" and the database I was using (Student Edition) made some suggestions for how I could narrow my search.

• If you've already found a book or article on your topic, take a look at how it has been tagged.  Then use those subject headings to turn up more information.

Believe it or not, even though it feels like more work initially, subject searches can save you time in the long run, because your results will be more accurate than your keyword search and you won't have to scroll through as many hits.

I hope this is somewhat clear without being too long-winded and jargon-y.  Let me know if you have questions or any suggestions to share!

Wednesday Tech Tips: Databases, Part One

Are you ready to check out databases with me?

GET EXCITED!!!  Also, have your library card ready, 'cause you might need that.

Step One: Up at the top left of this page, you'll find a button to connect you to the Minuteman Catalog.  RIGHT-CLICK IT.

Step Two: We at the Minuteman Catalog?  In a new window or tab?  Word.  In the lower right-hand section of the page is a box labeled "Research & Information."  In that box is a link for DATABASES.  Click on that.

Step Three:  Select your database!  Not sure which one you want?  That's why they've written little descriptions under each one.  You may have to read.  (You can do it!)

Now let's talk about how to search.  Most databases (including the library catalog, BTW) will allow you to search by SUBJECT or KEYWORD.  A keyword search is going to pick up anything with the words you enter -- that can be a lot of results, many which may have nothing to do with your topic.  Subject searches are more focused, but it can be tricky figuring out how the information you want has been categorized.

Let's say your topic is teens starting their own businesses.

Keyword search: business, teens

Your results will include anything with the words business or teens.  That's a lot of articles, and most of them won't have anything to do with your topic.  Your results won't include anything with the words businesses, teen, teenager, teenagers.

How can you improve your keyword search?

• By using Boolean operators.  They sound like alien starship pilots, but Boolean operators are words that will include or exclude search terms: 

and

or

not

• By nesting.  Sounds cozy, right?  It means using parentheses to put your keywords into sets:

business and (teens or teenagers)

• By using truncation.  This means using a punctuation mark (usually * or ?) to include different forms of your keywords:

business* and teen*

         This will open your search to include business, businesses, teen, teens, teenager, teenagers.

Mess around with keyword searching, using these tips, and see what kind of results you get.  I'll be back to talk more about subject searching.

Wednesday Tech Tips: Improve your searches

Telling you upfront: I do not have a problem with Googling or Wikipedia to get your search started.  This can be useful when you need to narrow down your topic, and often times using these tools will help you find specific search terms.

But there are Carnival cruise ships of unsubstantiated info on the Internet -- how do you know when you've got the good stuff?  There are sites designed to steer you towards articles and information with scholarly cred.*

Here's some show & tell -- I'll use the same subject search for all sites.

refseek.com

Check it out: I've got sources for general information about Syria plus breaking news articles from established news agencies.  If you click over to Documents at the top of the page, you are connected to full-text articles and recorded data.  There's also a sidebar for image results, and the whole site has a clean and direct format.



sweet search.com

A neat feature of this site is that you can select your results using the check boxes and then share them on social media, mark them as favorites, or import them straight to your Google docs (see where I circled and drew the arrow?  Yep, just like that).

Try and tell me that is not cool.



scholar.google.com
This one is a bit trickier.  Google Scholar will create a listing of published information, but may not provide the text itself.  It can hook you up with libraries who can track down your search results, whether they are books, articles, academic papers, etc.

I encourage you to take your time with this one so when the time comes to use it for real you won't explode with frustration. 

Start page.

If you click on the search bar you open up an advanced search window.

I narrowed my search by entering subject terms and a date range.

And voila!












Just keep in mind that Google Scholar should not be counted on as a last-minute research tool: it can direct you to where the answers are recorded, but you may have to do more work to get the actual research material in front of your eyeballs.


Good research takes practice just like everything else, and we librarians are here to help you!  Hopefully this made sense, but if you have questions, let me know.



*Props to Byrne, Richard . "Beyond Google: Alternative Search Tools." School Library Journal February 2013: 15. Print.