Library Databases
Choosing the right kind of database at the beginning can make your research more efficient and ensure you use a variety of sources.
Types of Databases
- Article databases: Use when you want to find scholarly sources, popular sources like news and magazines, or primary sources. (example: Academic Search Complete or Opposing Viewpoints)
- eBook databases: Use when you want to find a lot of information about a broad topic. (example: eBook Collection or Credo Reference)
- Newspaper databases: Use for historical newspaper articles as well as current news articles about your topic. (example: NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers or NewsBank: Access World News)
- Statistics: Use for finding statistics about your topic. (example: Statista)
Search Strategies
These search strategies can help you in any database you use. Using the right keywords can affect how relevant your results are.
- Search with specific keywords (not questions or long phrases).
- Search 2-3 keywords at a time. Each keyword you add will reduce your results.
- Use quotation marks around words you want to search as a complete phrase ("endangered species").
- Limiters: always use the Full Text limiter. Use the Peer Reviewed limiter if that is the kind of source you need. You can also set a date range for your search results.
Strive for a list of results that is manageable so you can look through them all. If you have an overwhelming number of results, try revising your search by changing or adding keywords or applying different limiters. Revising your search might also mean trying a different database.
Keywords
It's best to start your search with the main idea(s) of your thesis statement. To further your research, you'll need additional words or ideas to search. Keywords fall into three main categories: Broad, Narrow, and Related.
- Broad: More general categories
- Narrow: A specific category
- Related: Synonyms or similar terms, or terms that are connected to your topic
Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT
Using Boolean Operators is another search strategy that can help you locate the best results.
- AND: for combining unrelated search terms
- OR: for searching similar words
- NOT: for eliminating results
