Welcome to the OISE Library’s Critical Search Skills for Graduate Students! This series is designed for graduate students in education and social sciences who want to level up their literature searching skills while striving for critical and responsible information practices.
You can attend these sessions individually or as a complete series—choose the ones that best meet your searching needs.
This is Session 2: Fundamentals of Strategic Searching.
Searching at the graduate level requires a comprehensive and strategic approach, and can sometimes be a tricky transition from undergraduate assignments and expectations. But the library has the expertise to help! There are supports, frameworks, software tools, and guidance to help you get the most out of your searching.
This session goes step-by-step through the stages of designing, running, and refining your searches, using a strategic approach to maximize your searching efficiency, coverage, and confidence. By the end of this session, you will be able to:
- Plan out your search process, considering where to search and what language to use.
- Run searches in Google Scholar, LibrarySearch, and academic databases, understanding the pros and cons of each.
- Identify key concepts and related terms in your search questions, translating your ideas into comprehensive search strings.
- Use advanced search techniques such as Boolean operators, search syntax, and filters.
- Manage, revise, and organize your search process in an iterative manner using different tools and strategies.
Please note: This session is designed for students who have not previously attended an in-class library session on strategic searching, or who are looking for a refresher on this in-class content.
If you have any questions or accessibility needs, please contact Mackenzie Blanchett at mackenzie.blanchett@utoronto.ca. We kindly ask that you provide as much advanced notice as possible.
Additional sessions: Check out the other sessions OISE Library’s Graduate Search Skills Series!
- Session 1: Turning Great Ideas into Effective Search Questions (Monday, January 27 OR Friday, January 31)
- Session 3: Untangling AI in the Literature Search Process (Tuesday, March 04 OR Friday, March 07)
- Session 4: Implementing a Critical Citation Practice (Tuesday, March 25 OR Friday, March 28)