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The Research Cycle

Search Tips

Most library databases have search tools built in. Try some of these: 

  • Subject: Think of subjects as official hashtags. Use them to find sources about that subject.
  • Date Range: Limit your search to sources published between specific years.
  • Peer Reviewed: Limit your search to scholarly journal articles.
  • Full Text: Make sure all of the results are available to read in full.

Look on the left and right of your search results or for an "advanced search" page to find these tools - and more!

Use the operator AND to find only sources that mention both keywords.

social media AND candidate preference

This search will bring back fewer results than searching either keyword on its own.

 

Use the OR operator to expand your search with additional keywords.

social media OR candidate preference

This will find sources that include either word, so you'll see more results than by searching for just one keyword.

 

Use the “QUOTES” strategy to search for several words in a phrase. 

"social media"

This will bring back results that only use that exact phrase.