Spark 001 (Contreras): Search Strategies

Type your research topic or question in Column A of your assigned row. Give enough information so a complete stranger would know what you mean.

• Share Your Topic

• Select an appropriate search tool. Consider your subject matter, discipline, type of information needed, etc. 
• Note key concepts (nouns) that relate to your topic.
• Construct a search using 2-4 key concepts and Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), truncation, and/or quotation marks.
• Incorporate appropriate limiters, such as date, type of article, language, etc. before conducting the search or after viewing the results list.
• Skim results; read abstracts to determine an article's relevance.
• Leverage subject terms to direct you to other articles with the same tags.
• Revise search as needed. Consider using other terminology you discover from titles and descriptors. 
• Locate the full-text of a relevant article either through a HTML/PDF link, UCeLinks button, or request it from another library (Interlibrary Loan).
• Review a relevant source's reference list to locate other articles, books, or authors who have written on the same topic. 
• If you're not finding information that exactly matches your topic, use pieces of information from sources that are related.