- It is best to begin by mapping out your search strategy.
- List your key terms including any synonyms (other similar words)
- Then select your database(s) including OneSearch.
- In the databases, choose the advanced searches (usually 3 lines) to help you correctly format your search.
- Use OR between your search terms to broaden the search to include any of the terms.
- Use AND between your search terms to narrow the search to include all the terms.
- Take advantage of limiting by the date and by selecting "peer-review" or Academic articles if you only want those kind of articles rather than newspapers, opinion pieces, reviews, etc.
- Find full text within the databases in html or pdf format.
Review the OneSearch video again. Those techniques may be used in most databases as well.
When to use a search engine like Google or Yahoo versus when to use a database"
Use databases when you want to:
- Find articles for a specific subject.
- Focus on a particular source, such as peer-reviewed articles or newspaper articles.
- Find information from published sources, many of which won’t be available on the open web.
- Narrow or focus your search using features that are only useful for your topic (for example, if you want to limit to articles about a specific industry or a period of time)
Use search engines when you:
- Want to scan a large portion of the information available on the internet.
- Want to find out more about a source or author.
- Are not sure if the information you want exists.
- Do not need to narrow or focus your search very much.
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