No Google Searches!
Many students make the mistake of using the same type of search strategies that they use in Google. They cram their search into one search box when Advanced search boxes are available.
Search tips:
- Separate your keywords into different search boxes by topic using the ADVANCED SEARCH boxes.
- Combine synonyms or related terms by putting them in the same search box and combining them with OR.
- Example: social change OR social aspects
- subculture* OR counterculture*
- Phrase searches. You may put phrases in quotation marks to keep the words next to each other.
- Example: “hippie movement” "social change"
- Truncation to retrieve various endings of your search term. Truncation is great for pulling up both singular and plurals of your word.
- Example: teen* will search for teens, teen, teenager, teenagers, teenaged
- subculture* will retrieve subculture, subcultures
- hippie* will search for hippie, hippies
How can we improve on the ineffective search below?
The topic punk rock should be in its own search box.
Put search terms that might bring up the positive aspects in another search box using the ADVANCED SEARCH boxes. Combine the related terms with OR.