Improve your research results with these strategic approaches to Collections Search and library databases.
Start with a broad search using key terms from your research topic. After getting results, use the filters on the left side to narrow down to what you need:
To find books: Click “Books” in the resource type filters. This shows both physical books (that you pick up from the library) and e-books (that you can read online immediately).
To find articles: Click “Articles” in the resource type filters. Articles are research papers written by experts and published in scholarly journals. Think of journals like magazines, but for academic research instead of popular topics.
To find videos: Look for “Videos” or “Media” in the resource type filters. You’ll find both DVDs you can check out and streaming videos you can watch online.
To find course reserves: Click “Course Reserves” in the filters or search specifically at this course reserves link .
Example: “How does social media use affect teenage mental health?”
Main concepts: social media, teenagers, mental health, effects/impact
Search terms to try:
To save time, you can use parentheses to group search terms together:
Phrase Searching: Use quotation marks for exact phrases
Wildcards and Truncation:
Field Searching: Search specific fields when available
Use filters strategically after getting initial results. In Collections Search , narrow down with date range (recent research vs. historical perspective), material type (articles vs. books vs. videos), peer-reviewed (scholarly sources only), language (English or other languages), and subject (specific academic disciplines).
When You Get Too Many Results:
When You Get Too Few Results:
Can’t Find Full Text:
Results Don’t Match Your Topic:
Technical Issues:
Item Not Appearing in Search Results:
Use subject databases when you need comprehensive coverage of a specific field, you’re doing systematic research (like a literature review), general search isn’t giving you enough relevant results, or you need specialized search features.
Popular subject databases include
Check database descriptions to understand what time period is covered, what types of publications are included, whether full text is available, and how frequently it’s updated.
Following Citation Trails: Use forward citation searching to find newer articles that cite a key source, and backward citation searching to check the references in useful articles.
Finding More Like This: Use “similar articles” or “related results” features when available, check subject headings in good results and search those terms, find more work by productive authors in your field, and check institutional affiliations for other relevant researchers.
Systematic Literature Reviews: Plan your search strategy before starting, document your searches (keep track of databases, terms, and dates), use multiple databases (don’t rely on just one source), set up search alerts for ongoing research, and export citations systematically to reference management tools.
Interdisciplinary Research: Search multiple subject databases (your topic might span disciplines), use varying terminology (different fields use different vocabulary), check general databases (sometimes interdisciplinary work is published broadly), and consult multiple subject librarians (get expertise from different fields).
