EDFN 5301 - Introduction to Research: Home

COMBINING KEYWORDS 

The three words that you can use to combine your search keywords most efficiently are: and, or, and not. Take a look at the image below to get a sense of how they work. 

• AND tends to narrow searches because all words must be included in results.
• OR tends to broaden searches because one or other terms (or all) can be present in results.
• NOT selectively eliminates any results containing a specified word.

Take a look at this super cute Boolean Search graphic from Muck Rack.

Two symbols you can also use to further refine your search keywords are "quotation marks" and the asterisk *.

"Quotation marks" searches for groups of words together. This works best if you are looking for a title or phrase.

Some databases or library resources use parentheses () to group words instead.

The asterisk * is usually found above the number eight on most keyboards. Use the asterisk * to abbreviate words so you can find all possible spelling variations in your search results. It will also make your search results increase, typically.

ADVANCED SEARCH STRATEGIES: SUBJECT HEADINGS

Most databases also have a Subject or Controlled Vocabulary search mode that you can use in alone or in combination with search keywords. This mode uses words or phrases as categories or tags that are linked so you can see all the articles associated with that subject term or phrase.

Subject Search - The easiest way to use this mode is to find an article you like, then click on the Subjects field in the extended article detail view. This will add the subject into the search fields at the top of the page, and will display a list of all the articles that are associated with that subject. You can add more keywords to further refine your search while staying within the group of articles assigned to the subject in your search box.

What if I just want to see a list of all the subjects and begin my search from there?

You can access subjects through the Thesaurus.  The Thesaurus link is typically linked somewhere on a database's search page. Click to search the Thesaurus for subject terms. 

The Thesaurus search page often has options for matching your keywords to potential subjects. You can also use search builder buttons or manually combine multiple subjects using the terms and, or and not as if you were doing a keyword search.

Although literature review article searches should include core databases from subject areas and disciplines, there are a few databases and resources that are recommended for the intensive searching literature reviews often require.

Additionally there are two citation analysis strategies that can help:

• Backward citation chasing is a research strategy that mines a source article’s works cited or references list to find related sources that were cited in the source article. Use Web of Science to perform backward citation searches or search through a target article's works cited list.
• Forward citation chasing is a research strategy that relies on finding a list of all other articles that have cited a source article in either Google Scholar or Web of Science. 

Web of Science is a highly recommended database for literature reviews. It covers a wide selection of topic areas and journals, allows researchers to explore relationships between published articles by liking papers to the articles cited in the paper, but also other papers that have cited a certain article, search for all publications written by a certain author, and more. 

Google Scholar is a popular, accessible tool for forward citation chasing. One important consideration: very new articles may not have been cited yet.

Google Scholar is free to use on the internet, and has lots of full-text articles included. Google Scholar also allows you to search explore papers that have cited a certain paper, and includes Web of Science citation counts and lists when available. 

You can also set up your own researcher/scholar profile, and organize citations. Don't forget to set up your Google Scholar settings to link back to Bell Library resources!

 Google Scholar is also useful for Literature Reviews and intensive searching!

Google Scholar contains much more content in languages other than English and English content from more geographically diverse areas. That can be an advantage if you are performing a literature review. 

Use "Related articles" and "Cited by" links to access articles that are similar or related to the article citation you are examining. 

Related Articles finds articles written on similar topics.

Cited by lists all articles that cited the source article you are examining. Occasionally Google Scholar will also list Web of Science cited by counts. 

If the full-text of the article is unavailable in the database or via Google Scholar use the Interlibrary Loan Service (ILL) to order the article or book to be delivered online or physically to you.

If you truly can't wait and have the time and resources to travel to another library in Texas, you can get a TexShare card at the Circulation desk that will allow you to check out books at other university and public libraries throughout the state.