English152: Food and Health in America

These search strategies can help you in any database you use.

Using the right keywords can affect how relevant your results are. Start with your main ideas, then add or revise using keywords as you encounter new ones.

Example research question: What are the long-term health effects of consuming genetically modified foods?

Main ideas: genetically modified foods, health effects

1. Search with specific keywords (not questions or long phrases).
2. Search 2-3 keywords at a time. Each keyword you add will reduce your results.
3. Use quotation marks around words you want to search as a complete phrase ("genetically modified foods").
4. Limiters: always use the Full Text limiter. Use the Peer Reviewed limiter if that is the kind of information you need. You can also adjust the date range to get the most current articles.
5. Number of results: Strive for no more than 200 hundred results. If you have more than that, try revising your search. You want a list of results that is manageable so you can look through them all.

Types of Keywords

Keywords fall into three main categories: Broad, Narrow, and Related.

• Broad: More general categories (genetically modified foods, food biotechnology, plant breeding, genetic engineering)
• Narrow: A specific category (GMO crops like corn or soybeans; or companies that produce or study genetically modified foods)
• Related: Synonyms or similar terms, or terms that are connected to your topic (health impact, safety, food labels, Food and Drug Administration) 

Below is a list of databases that contain research that may be relevant to your Food and Health in America paper.

Or, get started with the Academic Search Complete search box on the left. Academic Search Complete is a good database to start with because it contains articles (popular and scholarly) on a wide variety of topics.

Use the A to Z Databases tab on the left to access our full list of databases.