Activity- Practice Keyword and Advanced Searching

Overview

Library database searching is an iterative process of trying a search, reviewing the results, and revising the search. And then starting over again with a new database. Some tips to keep in mind:

• Try multiple search statements in each database — some keywords will work better than others.
• Try using subject headings/descriptors, official terminology designated by a database for a topic. Keep in mind these subject headings differ from database to database and can reflect the jargon of the discipline.
• If there is an advanced search option available, use it. Advance searching often allows you to target your search terms to a specific section of the record. A record is an item in a database and is usually composed of the citation (author, article title, journal, volume, dates, and pages), often includes an abstract (a brief synopsis of the article) and subject headings, and can sometimes include the full-text. Like subject headings, record components differ between databases.

From Keywords to Subject Headings in Academic Search Complete

Academic Search Complete is a multidisciplinary database that is useful for all research topics. You’ll find a link to it under “Starting Points” on the Articles and Research Databases page listed in the Start Your Research drop-down menu on the UW Libraries home page.

Example:

I am interested in African American soldiers during World War II. Since these are phrases, I remember to use quotation marks and decide to replace the “s” in soldiers with the asterisk (*) so that I find both the plural and singular term.

 

I then scroll through the first few results scanning the subjects used by the database. I notice that that “African American military personnel” and “World War II” are subject headings.

I can then redo my search using these subject headings as my search terms in order to find articles that are more relevant than those from my initial search. I can also target my search to the Subject Terms section of the record by changing the box label from “Select a Field” to “SU Subject Terms.”

As I scan more results, I discover that Academic Search Complete is a bit inconsistent with subject headings and that I will also want to try additional subjects including “Black military personnel,” “World War II – African Americans” and “African American participation in World War II” in order to be comprehensive.

Activity: Search a Database

1. Begin with coming up with some keywords (nouns tend to work best) that capture the essence of your topic.
2. Go to Academic Search Complete.
3. Type in your keywords in separate boxes. Recommendation: keep your search simple for this activity, one keyword/keyword phrase per box.
4. Scan your results. Find relevant subjects and re-do your search. Some databases include a list of subject headings. Look for the “Subject Terms” (in some databases this may be called a thesaurus) link on the top of the screen. This is another way to identify subject headings.
5. Evaluate your results. Do they seem more relevant? Use the Limiters in the left toolbar to further narrow your results to “Scholarly (Peer Reviewed Journals)” or in other ways.
6. Next find a subject-specific database by identifying a research guide related to your discipline or topic. Look under Starting Points to find links to the most important databases for that field.
7. Try your search terms in one or more of these databases. Are the subject headings different? Are your results more relevant?