Tips for Using Electronic Resources Like a Pro

• Consult the Help or Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) links. The first time you use any catalog, database, or search engine, use the help or FAQ links to learn specific searching techniques. You will get the best results if you use the tips and strategies suggested by the database provider.
• Write out your topic or problem as a statement or question. Writing out a statement or question, such as “Is it right for politicians to take gifts from lobbyists?” or “The influence of lobbyists or PACs has dramatically changed American political ethics,” will help you identify potentially useful keywords.
• Brainstorm keywords. Think about synonyms, related terms, and people or historical events to use as case studies. If one search does not yield any useful hits, you’ll have some backup terms on hand. It’s also a good idea to search more than one database or engine; different ones might pull up dramatically different sources.
• Know when to limit your search. You can often limit a search by date, language, journal name, full text, or word(s) in title. If you still get too many hits, add more search terms. Think about narrowing your topic by geographic region, a specific population, or a time period. For example, instead of just using the keyword “poverty,” you can use “poverty” and “United States” and “children” and “Great Depression.”
• Know when to expand your search. If you get too few hits, omit a search term. You can also truncate (i.e., shorten) a word by using an asterisk to retrieve broader results. For instance, by truncating the word political to politic* you will get results with the words political, politics, politician, and/or politicize.

  YOUR TURN

  Write and Reflect

  Talk to a faculty member, a parent, or an older friend who went to college. Ask this person how he or she conducted research before the Internet. Write a short review of the strategies used by previous generations to access and use information. Describe your reactions.

• Learn the quirks of the databases or search engines that you use often. Some yield better results from Boolean operators (e.g., “politicians AND lobbyists”); others are more attuned to natural language searches (e.g., “ethics in politics” or “gifts to politicians”). Librarians have a lot of experience working in various databases and can definitely help you learn the ins and outs of the ones you need.
• Check your library’s electronic resources page. Here you will see what else is available online. Most libraries have links to other commonly used electronic reference tools, including online encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, style guides, biographical and statistical resources, and news sources.
• Keep trying. Research is an iterative process, meaning that you generate keywords, do searches, read, learn new things, and then repeat all or part of the process until you have what you need. The more you learn about a topic, the better your searches will be.