Refining Keyword Searches in Databases and Search Engines

I have transcribed the following information from page 338 in the Writer's Reference. Employ this to guide your keyword searches while beginning your initial research for your final paper. Remember to vary your usage of these Boolean operators and terms so that you can elicit the most refined search results possible.

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Although command terms and characters vary in electronic databases and Web search engines, some common functions are listed here:

• Use quotation marks around words that are part of a phrase: "gateway drug."
• Use AND to connect words  that must appear in a document: hyperactivity AND children. In some search engines--Google, for example--AND is assumed, so typing it is unnecessary. Other search engines require a plus sign instead: hyperactivity + children.
• Use NOT in front of words that must not appear in a document: Persian Gulf NOT war. Some search engines require a minus sign (hyphen) instead: Persian Gulf -war.
• Use OR if only one of the terms must appear in a document: "mountain lion" OR cougar.
• Use an asterisk as a substitute for letters that might vary: "marine biolog* (to find marine biology or marine biologist, for example).
• Use parenthesis to group a search expression and combine it with another: (standard OR student OR test*) AND reform. 

NOTE: Many databases and search engines offer an advanced search option for refining your search with filters for exact phrases that must appear, specific words that should not appear, date restrictions, author and title restrictions, and so on.

Annotated Bibliography Rubic Posted

The rubric for the annotated bibliography writing assignment is now posted on the Schedule, Readings, and Rubrics page. I distributed a hardcopy of this document in class today, yet should you need to retrieve another copy you can do so by clicking on the link on the aforementioned page.

Below is a sample annotation in APA style:

Lothan, K. (2005) Seizing the time: Australian aborigines and the influence of the Black Panther party, 1969-1972. Journal of Black Studies, 35,179-200. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40027217.

This article is about the Australian aborigines that were influenced by the Black Panther Party to start a party of their own to fight against inequality in Australia. The article shows that the Black Panther did not just influence the people in America but other people around the world. The Australian Black Panther Party wanted similar needs and wants as the Black Panther Party in America. They both wanted “land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace and immediate end to police brutality” (Lothian, p. 187). The Australian Black Panther Party wanted to use self-defense as their ideology but that was not very successful because carrying guns was illegal. So instead of using guns when they followed the police, they used pencils and a note book. Members were shown movies about the Black Panther Party because they wanted every member to know what was expected of them. The Australian Black Panther Party started survival programs just like the American Black Panther Party. Some of the survival programs they started were Legal services, feed the people, free breakfast for children and Medical Services. This source supports my thesis because it shows that other people around the world saw the good things that the Black Panther Party was doing for the community and they wanted to do the same for their community.

Bomb It! and Style Wars

Hi All,

I hope that your second paper 's writing process is coming along nicely this weekend. I want to provide everyone with the YouTube link to the film we watched this past Thursday, Bomb It!. You may certainly use this text in your upcoming papers if you wish. Be sure you properly cite any references you make!

Best,
s.

Also, you may be interested in the following document from 1983 titled Style Wars. It's a classic. Enjoy! (This full-length video has Spanish subtitles.)