Brainstorm keywords and write them down.
| Cigarrettes Smoking Teens Teenagers Adolescents Children Addiction School |
If a certain word does not return many results, try a more general term. For example, "adolescents" is commonly used in psychology, but is less common in other disciplines.
Use Boolean operators to create better searches. Not all databases use the same operators - check the database help page to see which operators can be used.
| Operator | Results | Example |
| AND | returns results with both words | teenagers AND children |
| OR | returns results with either word | addiction OR smoking |
| NOT | returns result without the word | cigarrettes NOT cigars |
| "" | returns results with the exact phrase | "issues of health" |
| ? | replaces a single letter, returns various spellings of a word | wom?n returns woman and women |
| * | returns all results that start with the phrase | smok* returns smoke, smoking, smokers, etc |
Example search
| (teenagers OR adolescents) AND smok* NOT "after school program" |
| ➤ | Look for "Related Terms" in Encyclopedias to find keywords. |
| ➤ | Remember: The source you select will determine what information you find. |
| ➤ | Consider the source: Is the journal appropriate to your topic? Is the author an authority in the field? What are his/her affiliations? |
| ➤ |
Don't get discouraged! Finding information that is right for your topic takes time and thought. If you aren't finding what you need, consider 1) searching for synonyms and alternate terms, 2) choosing another database, or 3) revising your topic. |
| ➤ | It can be hard to remember where and how you've searched. Keep a research journal to avoid duplicating your work. |
| ➤ | Scholarly publications are sometimes called Academic or Peer Reviewed. |
Can't find full text? Click the Journal Finder link on the library homepage to see all print and online access to the journal you need.
If we don't have it, just use Interlibrary Loan!
Browse all our Literature and Language E-Journals.