You cannot search a library database the same way you search the Web. You have to choose your terms carefully and combine them in very specific ways. If you take a minute or two to brainstorm your terms before you begin searching, you will have better luck finding relevant articles.
Follow these steps to construct effective searches:
- Key concepts: Write down your research topic and underline the key concepts.
Example: I am writing about the pros and cons related to the legalization of marijuana. Specifically, I am exploring any physical and mental health effects of marijuana on users and any effects on how students do in school.
- Brainstorm terms: Write each key concept at the top of a column and brainstorm terms. Think of broader terms, narrower terms, and related terms. Consider synonyms and antonyms. Pay attention to singular and plural forms.
Example:
| Concept 1 | Concept 2 | Concept 3 | Concept 4 | Concept 5 |
| Marijuana | Legalization | Physical health | Mental health | School performance |
| Cannabis | Legalize | Health | Depression | Education |
| THC | Legal | Medical | Psychology | School |
| Pot | Law(s) | | Addiction | |
| Weed | Decriminalize | | | |
| | Illegal | | | |
You may want to consult a thesaurus or find an article about your topic in a specialized encyclopedia to find additional terms. After you begin your search, add any new terms you come across in an article to your list to use in a later search.
One note of caution - when you are brainstorming keywords, think about the terms the authors of articles might use. For example, if you are looking for scholarly articles on this topic, you may not want to search for "pot" or "weed" since most scholars will not use those terms in a scholarly article.
- Connect terms: When you use these terms to search a database, you want to connect them with the words AND, OR and NOT. If you use a phrase such as "legalization of marijuana" or "marijuana's effects on health," you will get very few, if any, results. (Be sure to consult Section 16b, Identiry Keywords in your handbook for more information on narrowing a keyword search.)
· AND asks the database to find articles containing all of the words. AND narrows your search since it requires that all of the words are present. Use AND to connect together the concepts of your argument
Example:
· OR asks the database to find articles containing one, not all, of the words. OR expands your search since it requires only one of the words to be present. OR is a good way to search for the related terms you brainstormed for each concept.
Example:
· NOT asks the database to find articles which do not contain the word. For example, if you are not interested in articles about medical marijuana, you can ask the database not to return articles that mention the word "medical."
Example:
Complex searches: You may also create more complex searches by combining AND, OR and NOT using parentheses.
Example: The following search looks for articles which contain the words marijuana or cannabis and also contain the words legalize or legalization but do not contain the word medical.
- Subject terms: Many databases assign subject terms to articles. These are sometimes referred to as subject headings or descriptors. These subjects can be useful for finding other articles on your topic. If you find a good subject term and click on it, it will take you to the other articles in the database on that subject.
Exercise 4:
Write down your topic and underline key concepts. Write each concept at the top of a column and fill in the columns by brainstorming other terms for your concept. Use AND and OR to construct some searches in your chosen database. Use any appropriate subject terms. Notice how the results change as you use different terms.
Proceed to Step 4. Understand Elements of a Citation
