Now that you've picked a database or search tool, you will need to develop a search strategy for finding relevant articles. While some databases may look different, they typically have similar search features. Depending on the database you choose, you should be able to apply several of the strategies listed below.
Infographic that explains Boolean Operators and gives examples of their uses.
Truncation is a search technique that broadens your search to include various word endings. To truncate your search terms, replace the word ending with an asterisk *.
Limits provide database-specific recommendations for narrowing a search. Applying limits will filter out results that don’t meet your search requirements. This will save you time because you won’t need to look through pages of search results that don’t include the information that you need Each database offers different limits. Be sure to check them out to see how they can help you with your search.
For example: In the database, Historical Abstracts, you can filter your search results for peer review, publication date, document type, language, subject, etc.
The image below illustrates how applying limits will help you to narrow
your search results.
It's important to know that databases use subject headings to organize their articles. When you know the right subject headings for your topic, you can search more efficiently. Starting out on a new topic, you won't know the subject terminology. A simple way to find them is to start with a keyword search. When you find an article title that meets your needs, look for the subject headings assigned to that article. In most cases, those subject headings are hyperlinked and will take you to a list of articles with the same subject heading.
Scholarly articles often have extensive bibliographies, also called reference lists or works cited pages. Bibliographies include references to articles, books, and other relevant literature that were published before the article. Some databases provide links to the cited references so that you can look at those articles as well, which might provide more articles for you to use in your paper.
Cited References can help you find articles that are older than the one you are reading.
An Example:
Look at the example to the left. If you found a relevant article from 2003, you could look at the articles in the bibliography to see where your article got the information used to support their main points. These older articles can also be useful to your research, especially if you need to write a literature review.
You can use a similar method to find newer articles, by looking at the articles who have cited your 2003 article in their bibliographies. To find out more about this method, see the tab for Times Cited references.
Some databases, like Web of Science, include times cited references. Think of these as the opposite of a bibliography. Where bibliographies include references that are older than the article, times cited references are newer than the article.
Times Cited references can help you find articles that are more recent than the one you are reading.
An Example:
Look at the example to the left. Let’s say your professor doesn’t let you include references in your paper that are older than 2005. You are finding articles about your topic, but they are all too old. Even the best article about your topic was published in 2003.
Using times cited references, you could see which articles have cited the 2003 article. Chances are you will find one published a more recently that you could use for your paper.
When you find an article that you think will be a good to use, you can take advantage of “related articles” to find similar articles. Databases have different formulas for determining how an article is “related,” but it usually is a combination of same keywords and descriptors.
You can usually find a list of related articles on the results screen of the database.
| Strategy | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Boolean (AND, OR, NOT) |
AND, OR, Not are the three words used as connectors between your search terms. They are called Boolean Operators. AND
OR
NOT
|
AND artificial intelligence AND generative AI will give you results containing these words together in the same record OR artificial intelligence OR machine learning will give you results that talk about either of these, regardless of whether they appear in the same record Synonym example: artificial intelligence OR neural networks NOT artificial intelligence NOT Chat GPT would be a way to get results about artificial intelligence that don't include the word Chat GPT |
| Truncation | Truncation is a search technique that broadens your search to include various word endings. To truncate your search terms, replace the word ending with an asterisk * | politic* will include records with politics, politician, and political |
| Adjacency | Adjacency is a way to tell the database that you want words to appear in a specific order. Some databases will do this automatically, but some will not. Add quotation marks around the search terms to force adjacency if needed. | "artificial intelligence" will give you records only when these words appear together. |
| Subject Headings | Subject Headings are database-specific preferred terms and are structured vocabulary that field scholars use to discuss their topic.
Characteristics of Subject Headings (From MIT Libraries):
Characteristics of Keywords Characteristics (From MIT Libraries):
|
When you search for articles, you can use any combination to find what you're looking for.
Since subject headings are created by someone other than you, you should look for them within the results of your keyword searches or a database thesaurus. Most databases will have a thesaurus. Subject headings are usually listed within the details of an article. An example of when a subject heading might be useful is when you search for GenAI. This includes thousands of records, some of which you may not be interested in. You may find it useful to look at the Thesaurus for a more precise term, like generative artificial intelligence. |
| Feature | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Limits/Filters |
Limits provide database-specific recommendations for narrowing a search. Applying limits will filter out results that don’t meet your search requirements. Be careful applying the date limiter. It can be too limiting, and you may miss foundational articles that support your topic. Use the Times Cited function can be a better way of finding more recent articles. |
Examples of limits/filters:
|
| Abstract | The abstract of an article is a brief summary of the article's contents that can help you determine if you want to read the full text. The abstract is usually listed within the search results under an article title. You can use the abstract to help modify your search by skimming it for additional keywords. | Click on the article title to read the full abstract if it's not presented in the search results. |
| References |
Bibliography Scholarly articles often have extensive reference lists or bibliographies. Some databases include these in the record and you can link directly to them. You can use references in a bibliography to learn about the research used in writing the article, which may lead you to additional articles about your topic. Times Cited/cited By Think of Times Cited references as the opposite of a bibliography. Where bibliographies include references older than the article, Times Cited references are newer than the article. It means someone found the information in the article valuable and cited the article within their own writing. Times Cited references can help you find more recent articles than the one you are reading. |
The reference information is in the article's details after clicking the title. It's often located in the sidebar.
|
| Related Articles / Suggested Sources | When you find an article that you think will be good to use, you can take advantage of “related articles” to find similar articles. There are different formulas for determining how an article is “related,” but it usually combines the same keywords and subject headings. | This information can be found in the article's details after clicking the title. It's often located in the sidebar. |
Boolean operators are used to define the relationship between your search terms. Using them can help you to narrow or broaden your search results.
|
Use |
|
To |
|
AND |
|
Narrow search. Will retrieve records containing all of the words in your search. The dark blue area where the circles intersect represents your search results. Black Death AND Society would only retrieve records containing both of those terms. |
|
OR |
|
Broaden your search and retrieve records containing any of the words in your search. A search for Black Death OR Plague would retrieve records containing either of those terms. |
|
NOT |
|
Narrow search and retrieve records that do not contain the term following it. Black Death NOT Plague would exclude any records with the term plague.. |
Truncation is a search technique that broadens your search to include various word endings. To truncate your search terms, replace the word ending with an asterik *.
Limits provide database-specific recommendations for narrowing a search. Applying limits will filter out results that don’t meet your search requirements. This will save you time because you won’t need to look through pages of search results that don’t include the information that you need Each database offers different limits. Be sure to check them out to see how they can help you with your search.
For example: In the database, Historical Abstracts, you can filter your search results for peer review, publication date, document type, language, subject, etc.
The image below illustrates how applying limits will help you to narrow
your search results.
It's important to know that databases use subject headings to organize their articles. When you know the right subject headings for your topic, you can search more efficiently. Starting out on a new topic, you won't know the subject terminology. A simple way to find them is to start with a keyword search. When you find an article title that meets your needs, look for the subject headings assigned to that article. In most cases, those subject headings are hyperlinked and will take you to a list of articles with the same subject heading.
Scholarly articles often have extensive bibliographies, also called reference lists or works cited pages. Bibliographies include references to articles, books, and other relevant literature that were published before the article. Some databases provide links to the cited references so that you can look at those articles as well, which might provide more articles for you to use in your paper.
Cited References can help you find articles that are older than the one you are reading.
An Examplle:
Look at the example to the left. If you found a relevant article from 2003, you could look at the articles in the bibliography to see where your article got the information used to support their main points. These older articles can also be useful to your research, especially if you need to write a literature review.
You can use a similar method to find newer articles, by looking at the articles who have cited your 2003 article in their bibliographies. To find out more about this method, see the tab for Times Cited references.
Some databases, like Web of Science, include times cited references. Think of these as the opposite of a bibliography. Where bibliographies include references that are older than the article, times cited references are newer than the article.
Times Cited references can help you find articles that are more recent than the one you are reading.
An Examplle:
Look at the example to the left. Let’s say your professor doesn’t let you include references in your paper that are older than 2005. You are finding articles about your topic, but they are all too old. Even the best article about your topic was published in 2003.
Using times cited references, you could see which articles have cited the 2003 article. Chances are you will find one published a more recently that you could use for your paper.
When you find an article that you think will be a good to use, you can take advantage of “related articles” to find similar articles. Databases have different formulas for determining how an article is “related,” but it usually is a combination of same keywords and descriptors.
You can usually find a list of related articles on the results screen of the database.
