SIR - Student Inquiry and Research: Find Articles

• Use strong keywords: Pick out the most important words/concepts in your research question. Use keywords such as those experts and scholars would use. These are usually nouns

• Avoid terms that can be used in many settings (like effect, impact, develop)

• Use Advanced Search and group keywords by concept: Use OR between synonyms (expands your results); use AND to combine different subjects (narrows your results)
  • dental OR teeth OR tooth OR oral
  • acid AND batteries

• Search multiple endings of a word: Use asterisk, e.g., econom* for economy, economic, economies

• Search exact phrases: Use double quotes. "coral reef"

• Limit results: Choose publication years, scholarly or peer-reviewed, full text, etc.

• Sort results: Choose most recent first or most relevant first

Try both types of searches:

Search Box on IRC homepage (searches multiple databases simultaneously)

• Enter keywords
• Capitalize Boolean operators: AND OR
  
• Limit to "items from scholarly publications including peer review"
  
• Exclude newspapers
  
• Use double quotes for phrases: "global warming"
  
• Use * for variant endings: "plant*"
  

            Search

• On search results page refine your search using options on left side:
• Limit to items in the library catalog or book reviews, for ex.
  
• Consider Subject Terms
  
• Limit Publication Date
  
• Specify Language
  

Power Search (by individual database)

• Link to a specific database -- see lists on right
• Use Expert Searcher Tips below