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Academic Research Skills Guide

Important tips for database searching

Tip 1: Find the database for the subject you are researching

You can find an appropriate database in a couple of ways. First, you can check out the Research Guide most suited to the research you are doing or, you can check out the Dalhousie Libraries’ A-Z list of databases

Tip 2: Create a list of search terms (keywords)

  • There is often more than one way to describe a topic. For example, when searching for articles about "junk food," you may think of several different words you could use to describe "junk food," such as candy or confectionary or snacks. If you stick to only one word or phrase to describe an idea, you may be missing out on other relevant articles. Therefore, before you start searching, try to think of a list of terms/words/phrases that capture the topic you are researching. 
  • Let’s say you are searching for information on "the effects of television on children." Think about words that could capture your two concepts: television and children. A chart below might be helpful.
Children Television

Child

Children

Toddler

Television

TV

Tip 3: Check out the database's index/subject terms 

Many databases have a list of index terms. This list goes by a variety of names such as the thesaurus, subject headings, MeSH terms, etc. These index terms are controlled vocabulary that the database uses to describe different topics. When you find a relevant article, you can often click on it to find out what index terms or subject headings the database is using. This is a great way to think of more keywords, which will increase the likelihood of finding more articles relevant to your topic. 

Tip 4: Combine terms with Boolean Operators

The Boolean Operators AND, OR, and NOT can be used to expand or narrow the focus of your search. 

 

Diagram explaining Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT). Each Boolean operator has an explanation of what it does and an example of what it would look like. 1) AND. What it does: Retrieves articles that contain ALL the terms. NARROWS the search. Example: cookies AND milk. 2) OR. What it does: Retrieves articles with ANY of the terms. BROADENS the search. Example: cookies OR milk. 3) NOT. What it does: Eliminates articles that contain the SECOND term. NARROWS the search. Example: cookies NOT milk.

 

Tip 5: Use parentheses to group concepts 

Like in a math equation, parentheses tell a database to prioritize the terms inside the parentheses before moving to the terms outside.  For example, if you are searching for articles about children and television you could try:

(child OR children OR toddler) AND television

This search would look for articles including any of the words child, children, or toddler, but only if they also include the term television.  

 

Tip 6: Other database searching tips and tricks 

Here are some tricks that you can use along with Boolean Operators to help empower and focus your database searches:

Phrase Searching (“”) When you are looking for a specific phrase, you can place the words in quotation marks to tell the database that you want the terms searched together.  

             Ex. “foreign affairs” = foreign affairs not just “foreign” or “affairs”

Wild cards (# or ?) are useful for telling the database that you aren’t sure how a word should be spelled.  

            # is used to indicate that a character may or may not be present in the term.

            ? is used to show that the correct term could contain a variable character in that position.  

             Ex. Colo#r = (color or colour) and neutrali?e = (neutralize or neutralise) 

Truncation (*) can be used to tell a database to search for all words that begin with the shortened term you entered. Truncating a search term tells the database to search for all terms that begin with the truncated term.  

               Ex. child* = (child, children, or childhood)

Tip 7: Use the HELP feature if you have questions

All database platforms have a help feature. The help feature can answer a variety of questions regarding how to use the database and how to search it more effectively. 

Tip 8: Create an account and log in to the database (recommended; not required) 

  • Most database platforms (EBSCO, ProQuest, etc.) allow you to create a free account.  We recommend that you use your Dalhousie email address for this account.
  • You do not have to create an account to search a database, but creating an account and logging in before searching allows you to save your search history and results so that you can revisit them later                                                                     

Tip 9: Database video tutorials from Dalhousie Libraries 

Need help with 'how to use a database?' Check out these Online Tutorials. These instructional videos cover many different topics relating to research and many are less than 2 minutes long.