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 and are often implied concepts and not directly stated in articles (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, etc.
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
History Databases
The following databases are helpful in finding history journal articles.
Collection of 2,000s+ scholarly journals and primary documents in a variety of subjects including history, literature, and science. Note: some titles have an embargo on the most recent year(s). Ask the IRC for details.
