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To find articles in the Schurz Library, you'll need to
start by using a periodical index or a journal database. To access the journal databases, go to the
Reference & Research page,
and click on the pull-down menu that says, "To Look for
Articles."
For more information about which journal database to choose, see the
selecting a database guide.
Once in a journal database, you'll begin by using keywords
to search your topic. Keyword searching in most library
databases is fairly simple: type in the key words from your
research question. For example, if I want to do research on
whether or not medication is overprescribed in the case of
attention deficit disorder, I might type in the phrase ADD
and medication. You can also begin your search with a
single concept as a way to help you narrow your research
topic. For example, I might type in attention deficit
disorder in order to see what kinds of research existed on
that topic.
It's important to think like a thesaurus when you're
using keyword searching. For example, in the search ADD and
medication, I might make these substitutions in order to
get good search results:
For ADD, try:
Attention Deficit
Disorder
ADHD
Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit
For medication,
try:
Over-prescription
Prescription drugs
You can also look
carefully at an article's item record to find out what subject
headings or official terminology were assigned to that article
when it was entered into the database. That terminology is
often the most precise way to search. For more information or
assistance with this concept (librarians call it controlled
vocabulary), just
ask a
librarian.
For more assistance with database
searching, see these
Database Search Tips.
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