Student Use of Keywords and Limiters in Web-scale Discovery Searching

Using transaction log analysis of student search histories in EBSCO Discovery Service, which we branded RVOneSearch, we seek to answer: 1. Do students use the limiters provided in RVOneSearch? 2. How effectively do students use keywords in RVOneSearch after receiving instruction on keywording? In Spring 2012, RVOneSearch became an integral part of our 80-minute librarian-led sessions that are required of all English Composition I courses. We began focusing our instruction on selecting appropriate keywords when we noticed that regardless of interface, students struggled most with identifying the right search terms. With RVOneSearch we stopped teaching multiple interfaces and instead began teaching one reference database for background and context, and RVOneSearch for scholarly sources. We spend less time on the nuances of interfaces and more time on evaluating results. We also teach students to use the facets and limiters available in RVOneSearch. In this study we wanted to determine if students used the available facets and limiters and whether they chose appropriate keywords after instruction on how to do so. Our results inform how and what we teach students and are applicable to others teaching with web-scale discovery.