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Asnuntuck Campus Library

Asnuntuck - History Guide

Basic Search Tips

SearchUnlike Google, library databases can't understand an entire sentence. So you'll need to break your topic down into the most important ideas - the KEYWORDS.

Example Topic: What was the role of women during WWII? 

The specifics of your topic will matter when selecting sources, but for searching you only need the most essential components.

Keywords: role, women, WWII

Most words have synonyms that mean the same, or very similar, things. For each keyword in your topic, try to come up with at least one synonym. Not all keywords will have synonyms, but many do!

Example: 

Keyword: women  Synonym: female

 

Keep an Eye Out

Sometimes scholars use terms that you might not be familiar with, or which might mean something very specific within the discipline. While searching, look for unfamiliar terms or words that show up a lot. Try searching for those and see if you find more relevant sources.

example database tools locationMost library databases have search tools built in. Try some of these:

  • Subject: Think of subjects as official hashtags. Use them to find sources about that subject.
  • Date Range: Limit your search to sources published between specific years.
  • Peer Reviewed: Limit your search to scholarly journal articles.
  • Full Text: Make sure all of the results are available to read in full.

Look on the left and right of your search results, or for an "advanced search" page to find these tools - and more!

Evaluate

You can evaluate any source using the 5 W's:

  • Who: ...wrote it? Are they an expert?
  • What: ...is the purpose of this resource? Is it educational, news,
    or entertainment?
  • Where: ...was this information published? Is this a scholarly,
    trade, or popular information source?
  • When: ...was this published or last updated? Is it currently enough
    for your needs?
  • Why: ...is this resource particularly useful? How is this resource
    better than others you could choose?

Advanced Search Tips

Boolean operators form the basis of database logic.

  • They connect your search words together to either narrow or broaden your set of results.
  • The three basic Boolean operators are: ANDOR, and NOT.

 

Why use Boolean operators?

  • To focus a search, particularly when your topic contains multiple search terms.
  • To connect various pieces of information to find exactly what you're looking for.
    • Example:
      second creation (title) AND wilmut and campbell (author) AND 2000 (year)

 

Venn diagrams showing results of AND, OR, NOT boolean operators

Image from Slippery Rock University Bailey Library History LibGuide.

Use the operator AND to find only sources that mention both keywords.

women AND WWII

 

This search will bring back fewer results than searching either keyword on its own.

 

 

 

Keep in mind:

  • many database will automatically put AND between your search terms
  • though all your search terms are included in the results, they may not be  connected together in the way you want
  • search using phrases may help make your results more specific
    • For example: the following two search strings will get you different results 
      • college AND students AND test AND anxiety 
      • "college students" AND "test anxiety"

Use the OR operator to expand your search with additional keywords.

WWII OR World War 2

 

This will find sources that include either word, so you'll see more results than by searching for just one keyword.

 

Use OR in a search to:

  • connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)
  • broaden your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records
  • example: cloning OR genetics OR reproduction

Use NOT in a search to:

  • exclude words from your search
  • narrow your search, telling the database to ignore concepts that may be implied by your search terms
  • example:  peanut butter NOT jelly

Watch this video by the Oregon School Library System for an easy to follow explanation of Boolean operators and how to use them to build search strings when you are researching in the databases.