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Faculty Research & Publishing

Our library's number of databases fluctuates, depending on our current subscriptions.  Recommended large, general databases include:

  • Academic Search Ultimate
  • Proquest Central Premium
  • JSTOR

However, we have numerous discipline-specific databases that you can access through the library's Databases A-Z page.  You can narrow down the database list by clicking on "Subject" and choosing the appropriate subject, then hitting search.  You can also narrow down by database type by choosing "Type," making your seletion, and hitting search.  

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A note about Google Scholar: 

  • If you are on campus using Google Scholar, it automatically connects to library resources. 
  • If you are off campus, you can manually set Google Scholar to connect to our resources.  Go to the Menu, then Settings, and then Library Links to establish your connection.  It will prompt you to login with your MSU ID and password.  

Tips for Searching

​​​​​​Some library databases now have a "Natural Language Search" option.  If you see this option in the database you are using, you can choose to use it, or you can turn it off.  Leaving it on means you can do a search in the database in the same way you would Google.  

Even if using the natural language search option, remember to limit to peer review if you need ONLY peer-reviewed articles. 

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If you find that the natural language search is not giving you the most accurate results, turn it off and do a traditional library search.  Here are some tips for traditional library keyword searching: 

  • Use keywords for the main concepts of your research question but also think of some synonyms for those keywords
  • Use Boolean Operators - AND, OR NOT - for more precise results.  (Using the Advanced Search option can help with this.) 

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  • It is helpful to use the "Advanced Search" option so that you can put each of your main concepts on a line by themselves.  Then, if needed you can add synonyms to those lines, connecting them with the Boolean Operator OR.  
  • Put phrases in quotation marks so that the database searches the terms as a phrase, instead of as individual words.  
  • Use truncation. 
    • This is where you take off the endings of words and replace them with an asterisk.  This tells the database to search for the root of the word plus whatever can go on the end of it.  
    • Example:  homeless* will search for homeless and homelessness.
    • Example:  home* will search for home, homes, homework, hometown, homesick, homeless, homelessness, homely, homecoming, homeward, homemade

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