Supplies needed:

• One for each student:  a photocopy of a full citation (with abstract) from an online database that you retrieved using a Boolean keyword search on two common terms.    Note:  You can tailor this exercise for subject-area classes so it has more relevance.  For example, for an early childhood education class, I use the term "children and friendship".  I will use this search in the exercise below as an example.

Description:

Hand out your selection of citations to the students and explain that they are the results of a search looking for articles on the development of friendship in young children.  Ask the students to read through the citations and abstracts.  Then ask the students if any of the articles seem like good ones for your topic.

Some of them will say yes and some will say no.  Prompt them to share their findings.  Some of them will be quite indignant: "This article isn't about the development of friendship at all!"  Reply that you entered in the proper words and ask if the words are present in the citation.  Ask them to tell where the words are appearing (in the title? the abstract? the subject headings?).  Let the students make it clear that the best articles on the topic are the ones that have the words present in the subject headings.

Give a very brief (and now, very effective) lecture on how a search engine handles simple keyword searching and on the power of subject headings.  Hands-on time in the databases looking for subject headings for their own topics is a very effective follow-up.

Time needed in class:  15 minutes

Learning Outcomes: