2015 NJLA/CUS Research Award & Forum

Megan Demsey and Alyssa Valenti : Raritan Valley Community College
Student Use of Keywords and Limiters in Web-scale Discovery Searching

Using transaction log analysis of student search histories in Ebsco Discovery Service (RVOneSearch), we seek to answer: 1. Do students use the limiters provided in RVOneSearch after receiving instruction on how to do so? 2. How effectively do students use keywords in RVOneSearch after receiving instruction on keywording? In Spring 2012, RVOneSearch became an integral part of our 80-minute librarian-led sessions that are required of all ENGL 111 courses. Previously, librarians taught multiple databases and spent most class time demonstrating searches in various interfaces. Recently we began focusing on selecting appropriate keywords because we noticed that regardless of interface, students struggled most with identifying the right search terms. RVOneSearch allowed usto stop teaching multiple interfaces and instead teach one reference database for background and RVOneSearch for scholarly sources. Now we spend less time on the nuances of interfaces and more time on evaluating results. We also teach students to use the facets and limiters available in RVOneSearch. In this study we wanted to determine whether students chose better keywords and used the available facets and limiters as a result of direct instruction in both. Results inform how we teach students and are applicable to others teaching with web-scale discovery.

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Megan Demsey and Alyssa Valenti

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Student Use of Keywords and Limiters in Web-scale Discovery Searching