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LP Students-Honecker-AP English Language & Composition

Search Tips

  • Have a strategy
  • Write down your topic
  • Brainstorm terms with the same meaning
  • Search for keywords, not sentences
    • Do: addiction alcoholism
    • Don't: What are the effects of alcoholism and addiction?
  • Group phrases
    • Do: "substance abuse"
  • Review descriptions/records of useful items for more search terms
  • Keep track of where you have searched and what keywords were helpful
  • Ask the experts for some help

Limit results:

  • Searching for recently published or, conversely, historical documents? Limit the publication date range to suit your needs.
  • Need to find full-text of articles? Click the checkbox for "full-text" to find results with the full html or pdf copy available.
  • Looking for peer-reviewed or scholarly articles, where article content has been reviewed by experts? Select the "scholarly/peer-reviewed" option.

Almost all search tools give you an advanced search option. Use the tips below to refine your searches and locate the sources you need.

Image of advanced search box

Enter your search terms

  • Type your keywords into the search fields. Use only as many fields as you need and leave the rest blank.
  • Focus on using a few keywords and avoid entering full sentences.
  • If you do not find the results you are looking for, switch your search terms and try again.

Decide how your search terms will interact

  • Selecting AND will limit your search to results that include both keywords.
  • Selecting OR will expand your search and results will include one keyword or the other.
  • Selecting NOT will exclude the second keyword. Use this feature to eliminate results that are similar but unrelated to your topic.

Select how you would like to search

  • Select an option from the dropdown menu, such as title, author, all text, or keyword. This will tell the database where you would like to search. 

To get more search results

  • Use fewer keywords, limit to two or three keywords
  • Use more general terms, use sports instead of athletics
  • Use a Boolean OR search: sports OR athletics
  • Select the option to search in full-text 

To get fewer search results

  • Use more specific keywords: cappuccino instead of coffee
  • Use a Boolean AND search to combine search terms: pizza and wings
  • Search by geography: AND Illinois
  • Search by time period: AND 21st century
  • Search by person/group: AND Lincoln
  • Search by event/aspect: AND "Civil War"

Search terms word cloud: Title, Subtopics, Location, Themes, Impacts, Author, Demographic, Topic, Historical Context

Use the helpful exercises below to generate search terms for your research.