Basic Search Tips
- Use "quotation marks" around a phrase you search for that phrase and not the words separately
- Check your spelling. Most of these search engines won't spell check for you
- The more words you search for the fewer results you'll get. So if you don't have enough results, take a search term away...don't add more!
- Create a list of keywords you've used that work, so when you search the next database you remember.
Keywords vs. Subjects
Keywords are simply those words you type into the search box to get the results you want. Just like in Google, you don't type your whole question, just the important words or terms that will help you get the answers. Remember to consider synonyms when you create your keyword list.
So what are subjects then? Subjects are a specific word or phrase some librarian has assigned to a particular topic. Basically it's a tag we attach to articles or books. Why would we do that? Because that way when you search for that specific word or phrase you get EVERYTHING that has been tagged with that term. You can find these subjects (or subject headings) in the library catalog and most databases (except JSTOR). Usually they live along the left side bar or in the middle of the record (when you click on a specific book or article).
Searching within a Specific Journal Title
If there is a specific journal title you'd like to search within, here are the steps:
- Determine the name of the journal you want to find full-text
- Use the Journal List to see which database the full-text is in
- Click on the title of the journal you searched (do not click on the title of the database--the search won't work!)
- Choose "Search Within this Publication"
- After choosing this, your searches will only find articles published within the specifc journal you searched
Finding an article full-text from a citation
- Determine what kind of source it is. Is it a book chapter? A journal article? (Easiest way to do this is to look for a volume or issue number. Then you know it's a journal article!)
- If it is a book, look in the catalog to see if we own it. If we don't, you need to Interlibrary Loan it. Do so by checking the "Libraries Worldwide" link on the left, and clicking "Request Copy."
- If it is an article, use the Journal List to search for the journal title to see which database it is in. If we don't own it, use Find It to request the title. If it's not in a database, use Interlibrary Loan to request the article.
Popular vs. Scholarly image
Getting the full text
Found an article you like, but no full text?
We can still get it for you! First click Find it @ UD
Keywords
Scholarly popular video
You've heard there's a difference between scholarly and popularly sources. Check out this sock puppet theatre video to give you an idea of the difference.
Scholarly Sources vs Popular Sources from Kimbel Library on Vimeo.
That's not all though. Don't forget to think about who wrote the articles and who they are written for. Scholarly articles are written by...wait for it...scholars. And by scholars, we mean professors, researchers, and scientists: people who are experts in their fields. So who writes popular articles? For the most part it's journalists, whose expertise is usually writing, not the content area they are writing about.
As for audience, scholarly articles are written for other experts in the field and students in those areas. This means you'll sometimes get words or specialized terms that you may not know. Don't be afraid to look them up. Popular sources are written for everyone, so you get generalized language that might be a bit less specific.
Getting to an article vs this article
Looking for an article on a particular topic? Your best bet is to find a subject specific database appropriate to your topic.
Our databases are organized by disciplines in our Databases by Subject list. Limiters like date published, subject, resource type, etc. exist on the left column of most of our databases and can help you narrow your search. You might also want to check out the Subjects or Thesaurus for the database you're using to determine the library language used to describe your topic. Need more help or aren't sure where these functions are in your database? Check out this guide that can help you get started.
If you have the full or even partial citation (as long as it has the journal title) of an article you want to find, here's the fastest way to get to the full-text:
Use the Journal List to search for the journal title to see if the journal is located in the library in print, or which database it is in. Click on that database, use the citation to find the correct issue and then record for the article to find the full-text. If you get this far, but that article doesn't have full-text access, use the Find It button on that screen to request the full-text. If it's not listed in Journal List, use Interlibrary Loan to request the article. (For more help, check out this page about getting to full-text articles.)