This document provides tips for conducting productive searches to find relevant and reliable sources for a research paper. It recommends searching academic databases which contain vetted sources. Keyword searches on databases or Google can produce many results, so the document suggests using quotation marks, Boolean operators, and subject headings to focus searches. Once sources are found, it is important to properly cite them.
Forward Searching: Discover Who Cited an Important ArticleMcCain Library
Forward searching is a technique used to locate articles that have cited a particular work. It is called forward searching because it is useful for identifying resources published after an important book or article was published. This slide presentation reviews two tools available at McCain Library that will help researchers create a list of works that have cited a specific book or article.
Forward Searching: Discover Who Cited an Important ArticleMcCain Library
Forward searching is a technique used to locate articles that have cited a particular work. It is called forward searching because it is useful for identifying resources published after an important book or article was published. This slide presentation reviews two tools available at McCain Library that will help researchers create a list of works that have cited a specific book or article.
Google Scholar and the Academic Web (November 2013) slides. Delivered as part of the Durham University Researcher Development Programme. Further Training available at https://www.dur.ac.uk/library/research/training/
One of the main ideas of research is to study what others have published and form your own opinions. When you quote people -- or even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles, or Web pages -- you must acknowledge the original author.
Google Scholar and the Academic Web (November 2013) slides. Delivered as part of the Durham University Researcher Development Programme. Further Training available at https://www.dur.ac.uk/library/research/training/
One of the main ideas of research is to study what others have published and form your own opinions. When you quote people -- or even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles, or Web pages -- you must acknowledge the original author.
2. What do you want to find?
• Relevant sources
▫ Related to your thesis statement
• Reliable sources
▫ From a trustworthy place (databases &
news sources)
• Recent sources
▫ Information gets old quickly these days.
Find the most up-to-date info you can.
3. Where should you look?
• Databases are the best option.
▫ Information has been reviewed by an editor
▫ Someone was (likely) paid to write & research for
each article
• News sites and search engines are good backups.
▫ Try http://news.google.com
5. Keyword Searches
• user enters the words they’ve come up with
• search looks for words anywhere in the record
• same process you use when you “Google”
7. Keyword Search Strategies
to Focus Results
• Use quotation marks.
▫ Surround words with them to search for exact
phrases.
i.e. “global warming” instead of global warming
8. Keyword Search Strategies
to Focus Results
• Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)
▫ AND will search for entries that contain both
keywords
▫ OR will search for entries that contain one of, the
other, or both keywords
▫ NOT will return results that have the first
keyword, but not the second
9. How would the results of these
searches be different from each other?
1. Teens and pregnancy
2. Teens or pregnancy
3. Teens not pregnancy
4. “Teen pregnancy”
10. Subject Heading searches
• User clicks on or searches Subject Headings,
which are predetermined categories in which
databases place each article
• Subject headings must use terms as they are
found in the Library of Congress Subject
Headings (LCSH) list
11. Subject Heading Search Strategies
• Select Subject from the search options and type the
beginning of the subject heading.
• Subheadings are listed alphabetically after a main
heading:
Examples:
france--history--revolution
women--italy
censorship--united states—encyclopedia
12. Subject Heading Search Strategies
• If you don't know the correct subject heading…
▫ find at least one record relevant to your topic by
doing a Keyword search.
▫ Select a record from your search results and look
at the Full record display.
▫ Then use the subject heading(s) found in the
record that most closely matches your topic for
additional subject heading searches.
13. Use advanced searches to help you
manipulate the results so that you
find what you’re looking for!
15. Cite it!
• Use your planner, easybib.com, or Noodle Tools.
• Use MLA format.
16. Works Cited
“Keyword Search.” Columbia University Libraries
Online Catalog. Columbia University. Web. 29
Jan. 2013.
“Subject Search.” Columbia University Libraries
Online Catalog. Columbia University. Web. 29
Jan. 2013.
