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Libraries and You: Search Tips

An introduction to basic resources and strategies

Searching in Catalogs & Databases

The two primary methods of searching catalogs (for ex., Tripod) and databases (for ex., JSTOR) are

Tips for Searching Part 2

Subject Headings allow you to find relevant material grouped together including titles that do not use the keywords you may have been searching.

 

Finding subject headings

       Look at a book record in Tripod, check the subjects assigned to it, and choose whatever ones are relevant for your research.

Example:  A decade of dark humor: how comedy, irony, and satire shaped post-9/11 America

edited by Ted Gournelos.  University Press of Mississippi, 2001.

                 Subjects:                                          

                           Political culture  United States  History  21st century

                           September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001  Influence

                           Mass media  Political aspects  United States

                           American wit and humor  History and criticis

                           Political satire, American

                           United States  Politics and government  2001-2009  Humor

                           United States  Politics and government  2001-2009

            Subject search   political satire american  =  81 results

 

Refining subject searches

                        You can combine different concepts into a single subject search for precision.  The results are more focused than a keyword search.

                         But all the words have to be terminology used in library subject cataloging.

                         To ensure this, you can use subject headings you have already found.  Another option is to browse in the subject headings for more choices.                   

                          Combination subject search:

                                  polit* satire (television OR media)  =  17 results

                                        Searches political satire within the context of the media

                                                

 

Web Searching

Searches on the Open Web can often return irrelevant or non-scholarly results.  Nonetheless, Google and other search engines can still be useful—if limited—discovery tools if you know how to refine your searches.  For example, you might try limiting your search by various domains or using another one of the search tips offered here:


Use quotation marks to get more exact results:


Search any one of multiple terms (as opposed to searching all terms, which is the default) and/or combine sets of terms:


Limit your search to words in the title:


Remove unwanted results:


Limit your search by domain or website:

  • Limited to institutions of higher education in the United States:
  • Limited to U.S. governmental websites:
  • Limited to domains in other countries:
  • Limited to non-profit organizations:
  • Limited to a specific website:

Limit results to the Google News tab:


Limit by date:

Additional Tips for Searching

Use the the Google Advanced Search screen to conduct advanced searches including, but not limited to, those on the left.


See Google's Cheat Sheet for further tips on constructing and refining your searches.


See Nancy Blachman's GoogleGuide for even more tips.