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1.
Select a Topic
2.
Find Background Information
3.
Identify Search Terms
4.
Know What Types of Sources You Need to Find
5.
Search for Sources of Information
6.
Evaluate Your Sources
7.
Cite Your Sources |
Understand how to search library databases so
that you will get good results in an efficient manner! This
section discusses search techniques that will help you find
relevant information in library databases.
Subject Headings vs. Keywords
Library databases offer two ways to search for information
on a topic: 1) Subject Headings and 2) Keywords. Both ways are
important, so experiment with them.
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Comparison of Subject and Keyword Searching
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Subject
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Keyword
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What are subject headings?
Subject headings are terms/phrases that describe
what an item (book or periodical article) is about. When
an item is added to a database it is assigned subject headings.
The objective in assigning subject headings is to group
similar items together so that you get highly relevant results
and are saved the trouble of having to search for many synonymous
terms.
When should I perform a subject search?
If your topic can be stated simply with a
term or phrase (e.g., capital punishment, drug abuse, same
sex marriage, school violence, corporate corruption) try
a subject search.
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What are keywords?
Keywords are descriptive terms/phrases that
you use to search for information in a library database.
When should I perform a keyword search?
Sometimes a subject heading may not exist
for your topic or it may be phrased in a way that you have
not considered. When this occurs, try conducting a keyword
search. Keyword searches also are useful when you are beginning
your search for information and are uncertain about search
terms to use.
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| Searches only in the subject/descriptor field of the
database. |
Searches in any number of fields and/or the full text
of documents. |
| Usually retrieves a smaller number of items. |
May retrieve a large number of items. |
| Usually finds very relevant items. |
May find irrelevant items. |
Combine Your Search Terms Appropriately
Do you need to find information on a combination
of concepts (e.g., marijuana and its medicinal effects)? Online
resources facilitate this type of search with the boolean operators
AND, OR and NOT.
Here are some examples of how to use them:
| AND |
Makes the search more specific. Used to combine two
or more key concepts. If the research question is "How
does marijuana affect teenagers?" Construct
the search with AND:
marijuana AND teenagers
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marijuana
AND
teenagers
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| OR |
Broadens a search. Used to combine synonymous or related
terms together. Locates references that include any
of the terms you enter, but not necessarily all:
therapeutic OR medicine
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therapeutic OR
medicine
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| NOT |
Used to exclude documents that contain a certain term.
It retrieves references that include the first term
but not the second:
Mexico NOT new
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Mexico NOT new
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Truncation
Most online resources allow you to type symbols
within words and at the end of word stems to retrieve word variations
and plurals. For example, the truncation symbol *
placed at the end of diet* locates diet, diets, dieters, and dieting.
Use a wildcard symbol ? to replace a single character
(e.g., wom?n locates woman and women).
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