Getting a firm search strategy is an important time saver. I am 100% committed to using more OER where possible. My challenge is that even with the help of a librarian what I need cannot be found in some areas of nursing. Thankfully more resources are being created and information for some courses can be adapted from other disciplines.
I have been to several presentations from librarians for students about how to search for research articles. Every time I pick up a new tip. The process of searching for OER is really no different. In a nutshell, I start broad and skim what I get to decide if I need to narrow or expand the search. Then, using what I have found I refine my key terms and search again. When doing a systematic search it is important to also keep track of the terms and combinations used. It saves time and enables clear communication in publications.
… when access to information is easier than ever before, it is actually more challenging to find information, if quality and relevance are key.
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Day 6 – Mind the Gap by Peggy French is licensed with a CC BY 4.0 International license
Peggy is so right! Actually, I still think sometimes it is easier to make something than to find it. The more practice and confidence one gets in searching, however, the easier finding said information is. Today I picked up from Peggy the site search tip. Using site: you can use limit results to only those from a certain site. Awesome! Now if a site does not have its own search bar I can still search it.
Free-Photos / Pixabay
Peggy keeps promising not to bring me down a rabbit hole, but I kind of want to go down said rabbit hole with her. To go through her bridge-building process I would actually need to have something to search for, which I see we will be doing in subsequent modules. These steps (starts on page 4) will come in handy when looking for information in the future. I think I will likely adapt this activity for students in the future.
Simon / Pixabay
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