EDU 298: Climate Change & Environmental Education for Kids: Search Tips

It's easy - and normal - to default to resources that have worked in the past. If Google Scholar or Academic Search Premier helped you find materials for a project in a different course, you naturally would use it again. But be sure to expand your resources. There are a lot of specialized databases for various areas that you should use, too. 

• Use the Research Guides to find recommended databases & other resources for various areas of study
• Your topic may be interdisciplinary; the Research Guides will help you find resources if your topic overlaps with other areas
• Check with a librarian for ideas of where and how to search

The best way to discover the right search terms to use 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 specific 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
• 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

Sometimes a particular word or phrase seems to unlock your search magically. As you explore your topic, keep an eye out for key words and phrases that the experts use. 

Once you identify some of these words and phrases, use them as search terms in various databases and the library catalog. Even if you've already searched these resources, try again with the specialized vocabulary and see if you find new resources. If you're having trouble, check with your instructor or a reference librarian.

• Librarians are research consultants. We can help you think through search terms, suggest specific resources to search, help you track down sources and point you in directions you may not have considered. There are many ways to get in touch with us.

• Your professors are also there to help, plus they are experts in the field as well. So talk with them about your research & any problems you're having. Visiting during office hours is a great idea!

• Writing Center assistants are an excellent resource to help you think through and refine your writing for any project.

Databases and library catalogs have specialized search features that will help you conduct more sophisticated searching. 

• Look at the subject headings (sometimes called descriptors). These are specialized terms given books and articles. You can find them in most databases by clicking on the title of a book or article and then looking for the subject headings. Then, click a 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. Some let you limit by study or experiment type.
• 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?"

Quite often you will be expected to use "scholarly" or "peer reviewed" or "academic" sources. Here's what that means: 

• The author is a scientist or scholar, not a journalist. The author usually has the highest degree in their field (like a Ph. D.) and works at a college or university. 
• The audience is other researchers, scientists, or scholar. The language is fairly complex and assumes prior knowledge of the topic.
• The source references the work of other researchers. Look for bibliographic notes, references, or works cited.  
• Scholarly sources are usually published by academic publishers (like Oxford University Press); articles appear in scholarly journals, often with titles like Journal of ....

Though many databases let you limit a search to scholarly or peer reviewed articles, those limiters aren't foolproof. As an example, they will include book reviews, which are not reporting original research. Take a look at "Anatomy of a Scholarly Article" from North Carolina State University Library.

Peer review means the source has been reviewed prior to publication (usually without the reviewers knowing who wrote the source and vice versa); reviewers will then recommend if the work should be published. Many - but not all - scholarly sources have been peer reviewed. To check if your scholarly article has been peer reviewed, you can visit the journal's website.