Library:NSDL Search Plan

NSDL (National Science Digital Library)

http://nsdl.org/

About

NSDL is a content aggregator for open educational resources from around the world with a focus on the following disciplines: Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics.
Content is primarily Creative Commons, but each license needs to be reviewed for each learning object.

Biology 112

Unit 1: Cells

cell AND (lipid OR phospholipid) + Education level: Higher Education = 13 results
cell AND "nucleic acid" + Education level: Higher Education = 5 results
protein AND cell + Education level: Higher Education = 115 results
cell AND carbohydrate + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 3 results

Unit 2: Genes to proteins

transcription AND translation AND replication + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 5 results
transcription AND translation + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 10 results
“lac operon” + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 2 results

Unit 3: Metabolism

“Calvin cycle” + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 2 results

BIOL 121

Pyramid of Productivity

"trophic level" OR "food web" OR "food chain" + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 47 results

Genetics

meiosis AND genetics + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 15 results
Mendelian genetics + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science= 10 results
Mendel's laws AND meiosis + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science= 2 results
Mendel’s Laws + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science= 6 results
DNA AND alleles + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 5 results

Evolution

“population genetics” + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 12 results
"mechanisms of evolution" + Education level: Higher education + Subject = Life Science = 10 results
adaptations AND evolutionary AND biology + Subject:Life Sciences + Education level: Higher Education > Undergraduate (Lower Division) = 13 results
adaptations AND evolution AND biology + Subject: Life Sciences + Education level: Higher education > Undergraduate (Lower division) = 38 results

Searches were completed July 2014

Search Efficiencies

Background

• The learning outcome concepts were defined by the Biology 112 and 121 faculty.
• These higher level concepts were broken into units within each course creating a list of topics
• Additional related terms were added by the research assistant to create more search options

Conducting a search

• Find a Resource is the one search field where all keyword combinations are entered
• Refining a search is done within the search page and/or the results page

• Select from: Educational level, Resource type, and Subject.
• Each heading contains a drop down menu of choices. Select as many as needed; however, fewer selections retrieves more sensitive results

Notes & Tips

• Use Boolean operators to refine your search: AND is implied between search terms. Use OR and/or NOT between search terms as needed
• Keep phrases intact by using “quotation marks” around the phrase
• Truncation with an asterisk * does not apply. NSDL automatically searches similar spellings and variations. Example: entering eukaryote will also search: euakaryotic, eukaryotes, and eukaryota
• From the results list, Learn more about this resource elaborates further about each learning object, and also indicates the permissions and whether the item is CC or not. Note that NSDL contains learning objects with copyright restrictions
• Some results may link to paid content

Other search options

• Browse by Resource category. Each category also lists the number of resources within a specific education level or subject. Scroll to the bottom to find the subjects.
• Browse by Collection leads to the specific repositories that NSDL is aggregating. It’s organized alphabetically by organization name (ex: BiosciEdNet). NSDL will search only within the selected repository

Sample Search

• Concept : Genes to proteins
• Unit 2 Topic : Describe the regulation of the processes, transcriptions, translation, and energy transformation.
• Terms: transcription, translation, replication
• Related terms/concepts : DNA>RNA>protein, “RNA transcription”, “protein synthesis”

Entering the broader terms like “genes” and “proteins” will retrieve too large a set of results. To retrieve a smaller set of results, more specific terms related to the learning outcomes were selected and combined.

Example: transcription + translation + replication

NSDL makes it easy to enter the terms without the AND or a + sign. It automatically ands words together.

To help identify the type of learning object, select from the Education level menu.

As part of the BioFlex project, this page is intended to assist with searching NSDL and was created by Sarah Parker
Library:Biology 112/121 OER Search Plans