Getting the info you needChristine Bronkhorst

Boolean operators

Boolean cont.

• (consumer protection) AND (act OR law)

• (woman OR women OR female) AND discrimination NOT (gender)

Truncation

• Truncation allows the computer to search for multiple forms of a word

• Accepted symbol for truncation *• Type the first few letters (stem) of

the keyword • Eg : manag* (will search for

manager, managing)

Formulating a search strategy

• Keyword: identify three or four descriptive keywords

• Synonyms:  Identify synonyms for these keywords e.g. women or female

• Spelling: British and American e.g. organization // organisation  

• Plurals: Databases make it possible to use truncation e.g.female*  

• Boolean operators:  AND OR  NOT                

Crminal procedure act section 49

• Use of force• Reasonable force• Use of force + effecting arrest

Invloed van die wet op onderhoud van langslewende gade op boedelbeplanning

-Maintenance + surviving spouse act-Effect + estate planning-Competence + bequest

To access our databases

• http://www.nwu.ac.za/library• Search by subject• Law• (Law specific links)

When prompted for a password?

• Userid: surname

• Passw: ID no

Vs

GoogleQuantityNot organizedCommercial infoNo selection processNot permanentNot everything always for

freeNot trustworthyNo sophisticated search

strategies

LibraryQualityOrganizedCommercial and

scientificValidatedAlways available

(archive)Free (registered userd)Suitable for researchSophisticated search

strategies

Search strategy on WWW

• Upper or lower case does not matter• Automatic truncation• Quotes “ ” around “phrases”• Minus – to exclude (not-operator)• Plus + to include a word (and-

operator)• Parentheses ( ) around synonyms (or-

operator)• Use advanced features when available

Evaluation of info on WWW• Accuracy• Authority• Content &

coverage• Currency• Scientific use• Archive /

Permanency• Bibliography

• Scholar: http://scholar.google.com• Books: http://books.google.com• Institutional repository:

http://www.nwu.ac.za/opencms/export/NWU/html/library/theses_a.html

• Open Access:

Plagiarsim

• -Pass off ideas , opinions, facts you found in sources as if they were your own

• -Must credit the author• -If you use his words, indicate it by

using “quotation marks” • http://oldwww.ru.ac.za/library/infolit//own.html

Avoid plagiarism

-Don’t cut and paste information from electronic sources-Read what others have said, then formulate your own viewpoint

Try this !

• Find SA journal articles by the Author Liebenberg on Socio-economic rights

• Under the “keyword” option in your library catalogue search for civil rights

• Search for the term nasciturus fiction on LAWSA .• Find act 19 of 1998• Find international articles on Heinonline and Westlaw on

“public property”• Find the following US case: U. S. v. Feola, 420 US 671• In Google Scholar type in the search terms: “judicial

independence” grootboom.