ENG 144: Science and Literature: Search Tips

The best way to discover effective search terms is to figure out how experts in the field are discussing the topic. There are many ways to do this:

• Skim your course readings to see if there are terms that keep popping up
• Read a reference book for an overview of your topic, including search terms; find reference books in the library catalog or browse the shelves - main floor, Beck Hall side
• Consult credible web sources that provides overviews of your topic. (Example: health topic overviews on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website: https://www.cdc.gov)
• Ask your professor (who is an expert in the field!) if there are specialized terms you should be using
• Brainstorm synonyms and other similar words that might describe your topic
• Ask a librarian for help - we are skilled at helping you uncover potential search terms and approaches

Databases and library catalogs have specialized search features that will help you conduct more sophisticated searching. Use these various features to save yourself time and headaches.

• Look at the subject headings (sometimes called descriptors). These are specialized terms given to individual books and articles. You can find them in most databases by clicking on the title of a book or article that looks useful. Look for the subject headings. In most databases, you can click any subject heading that looks relevant to bring back every other item that has the same subject heading.
• Most databases let you limit by format, date, language, etc., which can be useful to weed out results that aren't relevant.
• Use keywords to search most databases; they don't always respond well to phrases. Example: "india exports" tends to work much better than "What are some of India's major exports?"

Scholars commonly explore the conversation surrounding their topics through bibliographic traces. Scholars read interesting studies or articles or books in their field; scholars then mine the citations in those works to find related research materials. They also look for more recent research materials that have cited the first resource. You can use bibliographic traces to explore the scholarly conversation on your topic.

• Librarians are personal research consultants.  We can help you think through possible search terms, suggest specific resources to search, track down sources and point you in directions you may not have considered. There are many ways to contact a librarian.

• Your professors are also here to help, plus they are experts in the field as well. So talk with them about your research & any problems you're having.

Here are some common mistakes people tend to make while conducting research. We all do at least some version of this, but it's good to recognize when we fall into some of these traps. The tips on this rest of this page will help you self-correct.

• Lack of persistence, especially not going the extra mile to find hard copies of useful sources
• Conducting research in terms of “finding the answer” as opposed to contemplating “how does my work fit with and address existing scholarly conversations on the topic?”
• Only using ”familiar” databases and not using the ones best suited to the topic
• Skipping books entirely
• Not being systematic / reflective / intentional
• Not returning to previous useful databases/catalogs with new search terms
• Not talking with professor & librarians about issues right away