Part 1A: Searching Tips and Techniques

Learning to search for library materials will save you a great deal of time and frustration in the future. These tips and techniques will apply to any research you do, regardless of the topic.

Begin by listing terms relevant to your topic. For example, if you were researching the impact of cigarette advertising on children your key terms would be cigarette, advertising, and children. This is known as a keyword search. The search terms can be found anywhere in the database record for the article: the title, author's name, abstract, full-text, subject term, etc.

To make your search as comprehensive as possible, add synonyms for search terms, using OR between each word. For example, if you are searching for information regarding children, synonyms include teenagers, adolescents, and youth.

Your search could look like this:

children OR teenagers OR adolescents OR youth

NOTE: quotation marks are used to search for a phrase of two or more words

Click below to watch a short video, "Creating Effective Database Searches Using Boolean Operators: OR."

When you want to narrow your search results, use AND. For example, if you want to locate articles about children and advertising, your search will look like this:

children AND advertising

Click below to watch a short video, "Creating Effective Database Searches Using Boolean Operators: AND."

Another useful technique is to truncate search terms. Truncation optimizes your search by finding alternative endings to search terms. For example, if you search for advertis* you will find articles that use the words advertise, advertises, advertisement, advertisements, etc. In most databases, the * symbol is used to truncate search terms.

Although truncation is a useful tool, it can retrieve irrelevant articles or too many articles. Too avoid that, truncate your terms appropriately. For example, use advertis* rather than just ad*. The latter would retrieve too many irrelevant articles.

Click below to watch a short video, "Using Truncation for Expanded Results in Database Searching."

When putting together an entire search statement that uses AND, OR, NOT, you should use parentheses to group together those terms linked with OR or with NOT.

Using these various techniques, your search statement might look like this:

(child* OR teen* OR adolescen* OR youth) AND (advertis* OR commercial) AND (smoking OR cigarette OR tobacco) NOT camel

Exercise 1A : Formulating a Search Statement

This required exercise gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts presented in the conference so far. By completing the exercise you will reinforce what you have learned.

1. My research question is:

2. The keywords I am using include:

3. My search statement is:

Part 1B: Using Subject Guides to Locate Library Research Databases

Subject Guides

How do you choose which database to use for a specific research topic?

• Decide from which perspective (e.g., business, political, cultural, social, historical, psychological, anthropological, educational) you want to approach your topic. It is better to examine your topic from more than one perspective in order to gain a well-rounded understanding of it.

• Next, find a subject guide in that topic area .

For example, if you decide you want to begin with a communication focus, there is a Guide to Communication and Journalism Resources. Where do you find the subject guides? 1) Click the Subject Guide Tab on the library's homepage; 2) click the Subject Guide Link or use the "Jump to" drop down menu to choose a specific guide.

The library's Subject Guides page provides research guides for a wealth of subject areas. Each guide includes relevant library research databases, books, Web sites, and in some cases blogs, podcasts, and video. The subject guides also link to tutorials and other helpful information.

Within the subject guide, click on the "Research Databases" tab to see a list of specialized databases for that subject area:

If you know the name of the database you want to use, you can access it from the Databases by Title (A-Z).

• Enter your last name and your 14-digit library barcode number or EMPL ID
• Click on login or press enter
• You will then be connected to the database and can begin your search
• You will not have to enter your login information again during your search session even if you use a different database, as long as you do not close your Web browser

Using UMUC Library OneSearch to Search Multiple Databases

You can use UMUC Library OneSearch to search nearly all of the library's databases simultaneously. This service allows users to find scholarly articles, books, and other research resources via a single search engine. Click the following link to learn how to use UMUC Library OneSearch.

Exercise 1B: Using Subject Guides to Locate Library Research Databases

4. The Subject Guide I chose to research my question is:


5. I chose this Subject Guide because:


6. Within the Subject Guide, I chose the following database:


7. I chose this database because:


8. I found ______records using my keyword search:


9.  Choose one article that you will use for the next exercise section. Record this article in APA format. Follow this link to see APA Examples:

Part 2: Locating and Evaluating Scholarly Articles

Scholarly Articles

Scholarly articles are written by researchers, professors, or students and have been through a rigorous system of review by experts in the field before being published. For this reason, be sure to include them in your research.

Different research databases have different ways of showing whether an article is scholarly.

Some databases allow you to limit your search to scholarly and/or peer-reviewed journals:

Some databases divide search results into different categories, including peer-reviewed journals:

For more help understanding the differences between scholarly, popular, and trade journals, please see the library's guide Identify and Locate Scholarly Journals.

If you find a journal article and you are not sure what type of publication it is from, you can check in Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory (under "U" in the Databases by Title (A-Z). Enter the exact title of a journal in the search box, then select "Title (Exact)" in the drop down menu and click the Submit button. If a referee's-shirt icon appears next to the journal title, then it is refereed and scholarly.

Article Citations

• Are the author's affiliation and credentials available? If so, do they specify that the author is from a university or other research organization? (Not all databases include this information.)
• What is the article's publication date? For many subjects, such as information technology or medicine, you need current information. The publication date allows you to judge whether the article is up-to-date.
• What is the length of the article? If it is just two or three pages, it is less likely to provide in-depth coverage of your research topic.
• Is there an abstract that provides a synopsis of the article?
• Is the article peer-reviewed?
• Are there charts, graphs, or other supporting documentation?

Here is an example from the Communication and Mass Media Complete database. This article was found using the following search statement: (child* OR teen* OR adolescen* OR youth) AND (advertis* OR commercial) AND (smoking OR cigarette OR tobacco)

You will notice that the authors are associated with an educational institution; the article was published in March 2003; and the article is 10 pages long. In addition, the article includes an abstract--another indication the article is scholarly.

To ensure that the journal is peer-reviewed, you can check off the box indicated below when conducting your search:

Click below to watch a short video, "Using DocumentExpress for Articles."

Click below to watch a short video, "Finding Full-Text Articles with Find It."

Exercise 2: Locating and Evaluating Scholarly Articles

10. Evaluate the article you chose in Part 1:

• Is this a scholarly article? How do you know?

• Is this a current article? How do you know?

• Is an abstract included?

• Are there any charts and/or graphs included?

• Is this article long enough to provide coverage depth? How do you know?

• Are there any subject or descriptor terms included to help you further focus your research?

• Is there full text available? How do you know?

Part 3: Locating and Evaluating Books

Because they can provide in-depth coverage of a topic, books can be an important resource for your research.

Library Catalog

You should use the library catalog, catalogUSMAI, to locate print and online books, journals, newspapers, government publications, dissertations and theses, maps, videos, and sound recordings.

You can search the library catalog by keyword (called "word/s anywhere" in the catalog), title, author, subject, or call number:

E-books (electronic books) are books that are available online. The UMUC Library provides e-books through several sources, the largest of which is a subscription resource called eBook Collection (on EBSCOhost).

You can access this eBook Collection by clicking on the "E-Books" tab on the library's homepage and typing your search terms directly into the search box or clicking Advanced Search.

• Find the author's credentials. Most books have "about the author" information, toward the end of the book and/or on the book jacket. By reading about the author's background, you can verify that he or she has expertise on your topic and is providing trustworthy information.
• Read the title page and/or copyright page to see whether the book's publisher is scholarly and/or authoritative, for example Oxford University Press.
• Look at the copyright page to see when the book was published. In some areas, such as literature, history, sociology, etc., older books can be acceptable sources. But for other topics (science, computer science, health, medicine, etc.) where current information is vital, you should use recently published books.

Exercise 3: Locating and Evaluating Books

11. Use the same keyword search you used in Part 1 to search for a print or eBook and then evaluate the book you chose:

• Provide an APA Citation for this book. You can see APA Examples here.

• Who is the author ? Describe some of his/her credentials?

• Is this a current book? How do you know?

• Who is the publisher and are they reputable? How do you know?

• Is the book current? How do you know?