SPH 1001- Robinson

Organize & Strategize

1. Make sure that you understand your assignment. Is it an informative essay? A comparison of primary and secondary sources? Do you know how many sources you are required to use? If you aren't sure, or have questions about your assignment, be sure to ask your instructor.
2. Pick a topic. Choose something that is of interest to you; by choosing something that you are interested in, you are more likely to invest the time in your project. Your instructor might assign a topic for your project, but what you choose to research within that topic is up to you.
3. Read some background information on your topic. A good place to start is Opposing Viewpoints or Brittanica Academic. Are you finding too much information? Try to narrow your search. Too little information? Try to broaden your search. Write out your topic as a statement or a question. This allows you to visualize the topic and you can begin pulling keywords to use in the search for resources.
4. Put your search terms together. Use the terms AND OR, and NOT (also called Boolean Operators) to either narrow or broaden your search results. Full sentences will not work when searching the databases.
   •         AND is used to narrow search results by combining search terms.
     •         Example: hunger AND poverty
   •         OR will broaden your search by looking at two or more keywords at a time.
     •         Example: cars OR trucks
   •         NOT is used to exclude terms from your search.
     •         Example: cloning NOT sheep
   • Keep track of where you have searched and what keywords were helpful
5.     Don't forget to Ask A Librarian if you need help!

What are you searching for?

Library databases can be picky about the search terms you choose. Don't search by simply typing in a sentence!

In the following example, the highlighted words would be your search terms. 

• What are the effects of repeated use of Roundup and glyphosate for weed control methods?
• What is the impact of climate change on crop yield?
• How does nanotechnology minimize nutrient losses in fertilization?

Synonyms

Using Phrases to Search

For search terms that include multiple words, use quotes " " to keep the database from splitting up the phrase. "Weed control" will search for the exact phrase "weed control."

Boolean Operators

Use the Boolean Operators AND, OR, and NOT to create search statements to enter in databases, SOAR, Google, et cetera. 

Examples:

• College AND Technology AND Learning
• (College OR Higher Learning OR University) AND (Technology OR Computers) AND (Learning OR Instruction)
• (Technology AND Learning AND Elementary) NOT College

Truncation

Truncation allows you to search for multiple terms with the same root at once by using an asterisk:

• Educat* = Educate, Education, Educational, Educator
• Child* = Child, Children, Childish