Establish Key Terms
No matter where you are going to search for information, it is important to figure out what keywords you are going to search in a database, a search engine, or the index of a book.
Think about your topic. What important concepts come to mind? Make a list. Then consider what are some synonyms or relevant examples of these concepts? If, for example, you are writing about race, how will you make sure your search returns articles about racial issues and not the NYC Marathon? You may need to search for something like "racial identity" or "race relations," depending on what you want to focus on. If you are researching Native Americans, you may try search for the names of specific tribes like "Iroquois" or "Sioux" to get a greater variety of more specific information.
Finding Information in Databases
Databases are great! They contain so much information, and they bring you types of sources you can't always find with Google. Also, with a database, you are also almost guaranteed to find valid information! However, they work a little differently than search engines, like Google. Searches in a database rely on key words, like searching #hashtags on Instagram. But if you only search for soap, and an article uses the term detergent, then it will not appear in your results.
For that reason, it is best to use controlled vocabularies. The databases Research in Context and Opposing Viewpoints have topic pages where you can find lots of resources already organized into subject areas. In Gale OneFile databases, you can use the subject guide search feature to get ideas for search terms that will return relevant results.
If you do decide to perform a keyword search, you can also narrow or "filter" your search results based on a subject.
Databases also have different tools, built in to help you find a topic, narrow it, and find relevant resources at the same time!
Tool for Gale In Context Databases | ||
TOPIC PAGES Topic Pages have lots of different articles, videos, charts, images, infographics, and more all about a single topic and representing a variety of perspectives. These collections make it easy to find information relevant to your topic without having to worry about searching. This tutorial video will show you how to use topic pages. |
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Tools for Gale OneFile Databases | ||
SUBJECT GUIDE The "subject guide search" feature in Gale OneFile databases to help you find good search terms.
This tutorial video will show you how to use the subject guide search. |
TOPIC FINDER the "topic finder" feature in Gale OneFile databases will help you find good topics and sub-topics.
This tutorial video will show you how to use use the topic finder. |
Power Search Practice these tools in the Power Search and select which Gale databases you would like to use. |
Other Popular Databases
Gale Power Search Use Power Search to select which Gale databases you would like to use. A "federated search" will search multiple databases at once. |
Gale OneFile - Interdisciplinary |
Gale OneFile - History |
Gale OneFile - Science |
Gale in Context |
Gale OneFile - Social Sciences |
Gale OneFile - Culinary |
Gale OneFile - Health & Sports |
Gale OneFile - Publications |
Gale OneFile - Technology |
Gale OneFile - Business |
Gale Primary Sources |
Finding Information on the Web
When we are looking for quick, simple information we can type whole sentences into search engines like Google. Google is also really great because it has features like predictive text, and spellcheck. However, when we are doing more in depth research it is very important that we not perform searches that are too narrow. This may not give you all the information that is available to you. In the beginning of your process, make sure that you search for as few words as possible at a time. And remember! You will need to do more than one search! So make sure you have your list of key terms, synonyms, and examples handy.
Boolean Operators
Boolean Operators are words or punctuation marks that you can include in your searches to make them more specific and eliminate ambiguities, this can lead to fewer irrelevant or inaccurate results.
Boolean Operator | Example |
AND Results include all keywords |
developer AND android If you search this phrase, it will only return webpages that have both the words developer and android. |
OR Results include either keyword or all of them |
android OR mobile If you search this phrase, it will only return webpages that have either the word android or the word mobile, not both. |
Minus Sign - Excludes a keyword from your search |
smartphone -iPhone If you search this phrase, it will return webpages that have the word smartphone, but not the word iPhone. |
Brackets ( ) Group multiple search strings and set priorities |
Project (manager OR coordinator) If you search this phrase, it will return webpages that have the words Project manager or Project coordinator. |
Quotation Marks " " Search for an exact phrase |
“customer service” If you search this phrase, it will only return webpages that have the exact phrase customer service and not pages with just the word customer, or just the word service. |
Finding Information in Books
Search your key terms in the library catalogs on Sora (eBooks and audiobooks) and Destiny (paper books) in order to find relevant materials. You can also browse for titles in the curated collections on both platforms, or by using the Dewey Decimal Classifications in the physical library.
Once you have a book that looks like it will be relevant to your search, you should look for your key terms in the table of contents (beginning of the book) and in the index (end of the book). The table of contents will let you know what each chapter or section of the book is about. The index will tell you specifically which pages have certain words. So if your topic is wild cats, and you find a book about animals in the jungle, you can use these text features to find the information about wild cats, and you don't have to waste time reading about other animals, like birds or insects, which are not relevant to your topic.
What's The Deep Web?
Why the Library?
Why do I need to know all this stuff about databases when I can just find stuff online? This video will explain some of the reasons why using the library's resources, including databases, will usually provide higher quality information than searching the wild internet.