Competency 6 - Searching Databases (1st search)

Search Strategy 1 - Successive Fractions Approach

Naive Question: What types of duties might elementary school librarians have?

Previously I searched for duties of a librarian that pertained to curriculum, but I changed the topic a little to encompass any and all duties a librarian might have.

For my first search strategy I chose to use the successive fractions approach using the ERIC/First Search Database. I previously used this database and wanted to rely on those previous experiences to aid in this search. This particular database was user-friendly.
I have had some difficulty in creating a really good search statement on the first try in previous searches. Using the successive fractions approach will be a good strategy for helping me with this problem. According to this strategy, I am to begin broad and then narrow my search as needed.

This is my second time to complete this assignment. This time I applied information given to me by Dr. Perryman. I made sure that my facet and key terms were the same thing. This really helped narrow my search.

Searching ERIC/First Search:

I listed my facets and terms. Next, I used the database's thesaurus to search for similar terms.

Facets/Key Terms:

duties, librarian, elementary school

1st facet: duties
*initial terms - job descriptions, roles
**thesaurus terms - occupational information

2nd facet: librarian
*initial terms - school librarian, library media specialist
**thesaurus terms - medial specialist, library personnel

3rd facet: elementary school
*initial terms - grade schools
**thesaurus terms - schools

Key term results:
According to the successive fractions approach, my beginning facet would be the term that produced the greatest number of results. Therefore, I performed a subject search on each key term/facet phrase to determine which generated the most hits.

Using the advanced search option, I performed the following searches:

ss1 (using subject headings) - (duties OR job descriptions OR roles OR occupational information) - 9,498 hits

ss2 (using subject headings) - (librarian OR school librarian OR library media specialist OR media specialist OR library personnel) - 4, 320 hits

ss3 (using subject headings) - (elementary schools OR grade schools OR schools) - 130,602 hits

Narrowing the search:
In keeping with the successive fractions approach, I need to begin my search using the facet that produced the largest number of hits. From there I will narrow my search by gradually adding facets. Using this strategy, I performed the following searches in the advanced search mode using subject headings.

ss1: using the advanced search option and searching using subject fields:
(elementary schools OR grade schools OR schools) AND (duties OR job descriptions OR roles OR occupational information)
results: 901 hits
notes: The results had to do with all types of school personnel duties. I know that I need to narrow the search to include only the duties of a librarian.

ss2: (elementary schools OR grade schools OR schools) AND (duties OR job descriptions OR roles OR occupational information) AND (librarian OR school librarian OR library media specialist OR media specialist OR library personnel)
results: 8
notes: The results were far fewer than the previous searches. I felt that I was missing a lot of relevant information. I looked over the search statements and decided to apply truncation to expand my search some in hopes of retrieving pertinent information without adding a lot of junk to the retrieval list.

ss3: (elementary school* OR grade school* OR school*) AND (dut* OR job description* OR role* OR occupational information) AND (librarian* OR school librarian* OR library media specialist* OR media specialist* OR library personnel)
results: 67
notes: This was a much more successful search. In looking through the retrieval list, I was able to find a good selection of pertinent information. Applying truncation was a good next step.

Overall conclusion:
The successive fractions approach is easy to use even for a novice searcher. Using the thesaurus to find key terms and then searching each one to evaluate the results is beneficial to visual learners. From the beginning, one gets an idea of how much information is available on each term which helps guide the search.
This was my second time to go through this assignment. I learned a great deal by applying the changes Dr. Perryman suggested. I went back and made sure that my terms and facets were the same before performing my search. That alone really narrowed my search down considerably.
In hindsight, I should have applied truncation before my third search. However; this is a learning experience, and I wanted to document my search the way I went through the process. I feel this is an important aspect of self reflection.
In my previous search I used a keyword search at the end to acquire a better retrieval list. I did not have to do that this time. I learned that keyword is not a replacement for a good subject search. By following the information given to me and using the successive fractions approach, I was able to find a satisfactory list of pertinent information.

My selections:

Brodie, C. S. (2002). Evaluation of School Library media Specialist. School Library Media
Activities Monthly. 18(7), 34.

Riedling, A. M. (2001) In Search of Who We Are: The School Library Media Specialist in the
21st Century. Book Report. 20(3), 28-30,32.

Stephens, C., & Franklin, P. (2005). Managment Matters. Your Role as a School Library Media
Specialist. School Library Activities Monthly. 22(2), 45-46.