Do-It-Yourself Library: Search Tips
I Need Search Tips
General Tips
Please use this guide to learn search hacks which will help with your academic research process. Below are few things you might want to remember
- Quotation marks: search for an exact phrase to narrow results.
Search: medical error
Conducting this search without quotation marks retrieves results with those two words anywhere in the document.
Search: "medical error"
Conducting this search with quotation marks retrieves results only with that exact phrase.
- Asterisk (*): searches for all endings to a word.
Search: Mexic*
This search will retrieve results with Mexico, Mexican, and Mexicans.
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Database Search Tips |
Catalog Search Tips |
Keep it simple! Start by typing the name of a relevant thing, place, or concept.
Add relevant words if you don't see what you want after doing a simple search.
It may take several attempts to find the right words to describe your search.
Try words that a website would use to describe what you're looking for.
Better: [bats good luck] Source: Google Basic Search Help More web search help: Google Tips & Tricks
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Too many results:
Start small! Begin with just one or a few search terms. Add additional terms if you have too many results. Too few search terms - If you only have one general term in the search box, consider adding another term that relates to the topic you are interested in. Use limiters - Limiters (such as date and format) give you more targeted results.
Topic is too broad - Narrow the scope of your search. Think about the different aspects of your topic you will address and search for them separately. Then synthesize the information. You may need to narrow your topic if it is too large to cover in a short paper.
Too few results: Is this the best database for your topic? If you are using a subject-specific database (education, psychology, etc.), try a multidisciplinary database like Academic Search or a specialized search engine like Google Scholar. Be prepared to try several different databases. If you need a subject-specific database, try the Subject Guides. Use good search terms - Check spelling, and brainstorm synonyms or related terms. You can use OR between synonyms (for example salary OR pay OR compensation). Too many search terms - If you have three or more search terms, try removing one to see if your results improve. Too many limiters - Use only limiters that are absolutely necessary. Your topic is too narrow - What is the broader theme of your topic? Break your topic down and search for different parts separately. Then synthesize the information you find.
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Looking for books, print journals, or media? Use 'Search Everything' the libraries' one meta search tool.
Can you use a limiter to focus your results? Use the facets on the left side of the search results page to limit by subject, author, language, etc. Looking for a specific article? Use 'Search Everything' or use a subject-specific database from the Research Databases. If you know the journal title for an online journal article, you can also search the journal itself (see NWACC library's 'Journals by Title'). Or if you use Google Scholar and add "NWACC Library" to your Google Scholar Library Links (under "Settings") you can search for articles at IU. If you see NWACC Library-Link next to the citation, then we have it.
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