CULT 29535: Education In A Democratic Society: Effective Searching

In most databases, successful searching involves:

1. Identifying the key concepts in your topic is the key to effective searching. 
   
   Say, for example, that you want information on the effects of socio-economic status on achievement in mathematics. 
   
   The key concepts are:  mathematics, achievement, and socio-economic status.
   
   You can use these as search terms. 

2. Combining key concepts.
   
   AND   Narrows a search.  Both terms must be in the record.
   Example: mathematics and achievement
   
   OR   Broadens a search. Either term may be in the record.
   Example: mathematics or arithmetic
   
   TRUNCATION allows you to search for several forms of a word at the same time.
   Example: achieve* will retrieve achieve, achievement, etc.
         Note:  truncation symbols may vary.  Check the online help.
   
   USE QUOTES AROUND PHRASES like "socio-economic status"  or "body image" that denote a single concept with its own distinct meaning. 
   
   PARENTHESES. You may need to use parentheses to indicate the order or operations.
   Example: mathematics and (achievement or improvement)
    
3. Refining your search. 
   
   Work from the best record(s) to discover new search terms.  Identify synonyms as well as broader or narrower terms that may be relevant to your needs.
   
   Subject headings.  Examine the subject headings.  These are sometimes more precise and may get you to the information you need more efficiently.  Click on the subject that best meets your needs and review the records under that subject.  If necessary, apply limits or add search terms to narrow your results.  Read the box below for more on subject searching. 

For a review of advanced searching, view this tutorial: http://support.epnet.com/training/flash_videos/adv_guided/adv_guided.html.

Many databases use a standardized list of predefined subject headings to describe the contents of articles.  Searching on these subject headings often produces more precise and relevant results. 

For a SUBJECT search to work, the terms you type in must actually be used as a subject heading. 
Example:  "family relationship" NOT "kinship"(ERIC) or "autism" NOT "autistic disorder"

To identify appropriiate subject headings

1. Notice the subject field in your keyword search results 
2. Click the most appropriate subject to link to other articles on the topic. 
3. Add search terms or apply limits to narrow your search results.
   
   

Use database limit options to narrow search results quickly to meet the requirements of your assignment.  Different databases offer different options. Limits may include:

• Scholarly (peer reviewed) articles
• Article type
• Publication type
• Intended audience
• Educational level
• Language