It is usually a good idea to start out broadly, so using just one or two of your topic terms is a good way to begin. Once you have a set of results, you can begin narrowing down your results by entering one or more terms. Searching in a specific field such as "Subject" or "Title" will narrow or focus your results.
Truncation Finds Multiple Word Forms
The asterisk (*) is usually used to search words with the same root:
Person* = Personal, Personality, Personable, etc.
Wildcard symbols (usually a ‘?’) replace a single letter:
Wom?n = Woman, Women
Sometimes keywords that worked well in one database won’t be as effective in another. Try using that database’s terminology: the Thesaurus or Subject Terms link. Many databases have a list of designated words that are used to summarize a topic, but they may not be obvious to you.
Once you locate a few good articles on your topic, be sure to review the references to other articles that are cited. This is a great way to locate related research articles on your topic. Many databases also provide a link to these articles if they are available electronically. If you don't find a link, be sure to check the Library's Journals A-Z List to see if it's available, If not, you can always use our awesome Interlibrary Loan Service.
While starting at Library homepage and selecting databases is always an option, below are some suggested databases for you to explore.
