Before you begin searching, think about the words you need to use in your search. Spending five minutes on this at the start will save you having to re-run searches with words you've forgotten to use, and will give you a higher chance of finding relevant items.
It's also useful to keep a note of what you have searched if you are doing your research over a longer period of time - it can be frustrating running the same searches because you can't remember the terms you used previously.
This is an example topic written out as a sentence:
The role of women in agricultural development in Africa
Translate your sentence into keywords. For the example above, the keywords might be:
As most databases will search for exactly what you type in, you need to think of all possible synonyms (different words with the same meaning) and variant spellings. If you don't do this you might miss out on key articles for your research.
The following example shows how our sentence has been broken down into keywords and grouped by concept.
| Keyword | Alternatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Concept 1 | women | woman gender |
| Concept 2 | agricultural development | agriculture farming |
| Concept 3 | Africa | African [individual countries in Africa] |
You might find too many references on your topic, so think about ways you could limit your search. Most databases will allow you to limit your search in these ways:
For help getting started, download a copy of our database searching plan.
There are three very useful ways to search our databases. One is to go directly to the library homepage and search using your keywords in the search box field at the center of the screen. You might also consider searching by subject using the subject specific databases I've listed below on this page or at this link. If you know the name of the database you want to search in, you can look up the specific database here. Finally, if you know the journal you want to search, you can find a comprehensive list of our journals here.
Science Reference Center provides full text for hundreds of science magazines, journals, reference books and high-quality videos. The database also contains science experiments, curriculum-aligned lesson plans, and a vast image collection.
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics by
Public Service Announcement:
In an age where information is readily available online, it's crucial to exercise caution and discernment when accessing resources. While there are indeed valuable and free resources online, it's equally important to recognize that not all content is created equal. Some sources may be tainted by misinformation or may come from unreliable entities.
When it comes to scientific writing and research, rigorous standards are upheld to ensure accuracy and credibility. Academic journals typically employ a double-blind peer review process, where the author's identity is concealed from the reviewers and vice versa. This helps maintain objectivity and integrity in the evaluation process. Additionally, reviewers are experts in their field, possessing appropriate credentials to assess the quality of the research.
As consumers of online content, it falls upon us to validate the credibility of the sources we encounter. Take the time to investigate whether the information has been published in reputable academic journals or publications. Look for evidence of a peer review process and verify the credentials of the reviewers involved.
By staying vigilant and adhering to these standards, we can ensure that the information we rely on is grounded in sound research and contributes to our understanding of the world.
Remember: when it comes to online sources, always verify before you trust.
