Starting Your Research
Basics of Library Research
1. Choose your topic(s)
Be sure that your topic is manageable; subjects that are too narrow or too broad make research difficult. Investigate the scope of your topic so that you know how to begin searching for materials. Consult with academic advisers and librarians for more ideas.
2. Brainstorm keywords and phrases
Identify the words, phrases and names that are used to describe what you are looking for. Establish synonyms and general subject words which also describe your topic.
3. Find subject headings
Use the Library of Congress Subject Headings listings or other general or subject-specific thesauruses for assistance in selecting terms/concepts/keywords. Many research databases now include online thesauruses linked from the front end search screen.
4. Locate books on your topic using:
- Gary Library Online Catalog
- WorldCat (world-wide library catalog)
- Other large research library catalogs
- Your local public library online catalog
- Book reviews in journal databases
- Bibliographies in dissertations and books
5. Locate periodical articles on your topic using:
- Online databases available via the Gary Library
- Bibliographies within journal articles, dissertations, and books
- Government sponsored online databases and indexes (e.g. PubMed)
6. Search the Web
Some good sources for research information include sites maintained by publishers, learned societies, nonprofit organizations, research universities, think tanks, government organizations, and international organizations. Many Web sites include annotated suggested reading lists.
7. Try to be patient and thorough
Researching a topic is never easy.
Seek help from librarians and faculty members whenever you need it.
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Designing a Keyword Statement
1. Briefly and clearly describe your search in a single sentence using words and phrases with which you are familiar.
Example: I want to locate books and articles that discuss the different strategies used by teachers to provide reading instruction to learning disabled children.
2. Identify the key words and phrases from this sentence.
Example: I want to locate books and articles that discuss the different strategies used by teachers to provide reading instruction to learning disabled children.
3. List key concepts, making note of any possible factors that might limit your search (e.g., books only, articles only, recently published materials only, etc.)
Example:
1. strategies
2. reading
3. learning disabled
4. children
5. instruction
(limiting factor: books or articles only)
4. Expand and broaden the key concepts by selecting synonyms for each concept. Use a thesaurus or the Library of Congress Subject Headings lists for assistance in choosing synonyms.
Example:
1. strategies, methods, approaches, techniques
2. reading, language arts, literacy
3. learning disabled, dyslexia, dyslexic
4. children, youth
5. instruction, training, teaching, education
(limiting factor: books or articles only)
5. Identify the appropriate research tool to use.
If you are looking for books, search the online catalog or book index such as the WorldCat database. If you are looking for articles, select a resource using Databases by Subject.
6. Enter your search statement into database. Begin by entering only one or two keywords or general topic words.
7. Use database help screens and tutorials for specific instructions on how to enter your search using wildcards, subject headings or other search features.
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Subject versus Keyword Searching
| |
Subject Search |
Keyword Search |
Quick Comparisons |
- Narrow search (Retrieves potentially fewer items)
- Searches only in the subject/descriptor field
- Search terms must be selected from a controlled vocabulary list like the Library of Congress Subject Headings or a database’s thesaurus
- High degree of relevancy
|
- Broad Search (Retrieves a potentially large number of items)
- Searches in any number of descriptive fields like title, author, subject, abstract and/or the full text of a document
- Search terms can be any concepts or words/phrases that you choose
- High degree of inclusiveness
|
Examples |
Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of North America
- Automobiles
- Motion Pictures
- United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865
|
Keywords
- Native Americans
- Cars
- Movies or films
- United States and civil war
|
Use When... |
- Don’t know a specific search term to use and want to find a term from a subject heading browse list
- Want precise results immediately
- A subject heading on your exact topic exists
|
- There is no subject heading for your topic (topic or concept is very current) or database contains no subject headings or descriptors
- Subject headings are too broad or too specific
- Need to combine several concepts together
|
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Boolean Connectors
"And"
- Narrows a search.
- Retrieves items containing all words. Use to connect separate concepts.
- Example: alcohol and pregnancy (finds items containing both “alcohol” and “pregnancy”)
"Or"
- Broadens a search.
- Retrieves items containing any words. Use to group synonyms or similar terms.
- Example: canine or dog (finds items containing either “canine” or “dog,” or both)
"Not"
- Retrieves items that contain the word preceding the operator but excludes the word after the operator. Use with caution.
- Example: crime not murder (finds items containing crime but not murder)
Wildcards
Wildcards are used to search for variant forms of words. This may also be referred to as truncation. Wildcard symbols may vary between databases, so you can use the “Help” or “About” features in any online resource to find more specific examples of wildcards.
- * Stands for any number of characters
- journal* finds: journal journals, journalists, journalism, etc.
- ? Stands for exactly one character.
Multiple question marks can be used to stand for an exact number. Use for internal truncation.
- wom?n finds: women, woman
- psych????y finds: psychology, psychiatry but not psychoanalysis
Nesting
Use “nesting” to group together search concepts and control the order in which your search is processed. Use parentheses to create nested groups.
Example: (celtic or irish) and (myth* or religion or folklore)
- Connecting the terms celtic and irish with an OR treats these words as similar terms.
- By putting parentheses around (celtic or irish), these terms now represent one concept, which can then be combined with other concepts.
- In this example, we have combined celtic or irish with myth or religion or folklore by using the AND connector. The search will retrieve items containing at least one word from each of these two concepts.
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