Before using library database to locate articles, take some time to learn a few key search strategies that will make your search process more effective. Search engines like Google work if you type in whole questions or long phrases, but library databases are designed differently and require adjusting our search process slightly. Use the following strategies to find the information most relevant to your research!
First, brainstorm and write down the main search terms related to your topic. Library database works best when you use nouns as search terms—eliminate any articles (of, to, is, the), adjectives (best, worst, good, bad), and most verbs (affect, change, alter, support). You may be researching a particular problem, an intervention or potential solution to the problem, and a particular demographic of people impacted by the problem—all of these concepts work well as search terms for finding information on your topic!
Quotation marks are used to tell databases to search for exact phrases. This is especially useful for concepts that can't be boiled down to a single word.
This is also helpful when searching for the title of a specific source.
You'll then connect your search terms using AND to create a search string. This is what you'll actually type in a database search box to look for articles or books on your topic.
When you connect search terms using AND, the database finds items that contain all the included search terms. Search strings using AND narrow our search and make it more specific to our research.
Most of the time, you'll want to use search strings with at least two search terms in order to find the research most relevant to your needs. But be aware, search strings work best with no more than three or four search terms—otherwise, your search will be too narrow and the database might not find anything.
Most searching in library databases can be accomplished with AND and quotation marks. But sometimes, you might need to use the following advanced search strategies to make more nuanced searches.
OR tells the database to find items that contain at least one of two or three words. This helps us search for synonyms or closely related terms, without having to search for each term separately—saving you time!
Often, OR is used in conjunction with parenthesis. OR on its own often finds too many results, so the parentheses help keep the database from bringing up off-topic resources.
Using truncation is a great way to find synonyms or different variations of a word, so you don't have to type in every version of a word you want the database to look for. Start with the beginning part of a term, then add an asterisk:
The * lets the database know you want all words that start with those letters. So, this search would bring up: sociology, sociological, and sociologist. Be careful with this one! If you shorten a word too early (socio*), you'll get unexpected results (like sociopath!).
You may want to exclude certain concepts from your research. This can be done using the word NOT. Search strings using NOT help you narrow your search and find results that are more relevant to your topic.
If you're struggling with your searches, contact a librarian! We can help you brainstorm relevant keywords and help you format search strings for effective use in library databases.
Citation chaining (sometimes called citation mining) is a research technique that uses reference lists and citations to expand your search. Chaining is especially helpful when you're having a hard time finding enough articles on your topic.
To get started:
Citation chaining using an article's reference list involves moving backwards along a path of references, but we can use Google Scholar to look forward and see who has built on someone's work since it was published. Look up a relevant article on Google Scholar, and underneath the entry in Google Scholar, you will see a link that says Cited by [#] if an article, book, or book chapter has been cited since it was published. This another great way to find additional sources on your topic!
To get started, click the Google Scholar link below, then follow these steps:
