This 2-page handout describes some search techniques and how to connect to full text articles after doing a database search.
Visit, email, chat, or schedule a consultation appointment with a subject librarian
Use 2 or 3 significant words or terms from your research topic
Develop synonyms and alternative terms
Try a broader concept if a specific term doesn't retrieve enough results
Try a more specific aspect or element if you get too many results with a very broad concept
Use the connector "and" to retrieve records with all the keywords you list to focus and narrow your results
Use the connector "or" indicate that any one of the terms listed needs to be in the results shown; this usually increases the number of relevant results
Use quotation marks to indicate a phrase
Use an asterisk * to pick up words with the same stem but different endings
Look for new words or terms to search when reviewing your results or reading the full-text article.
Searching by the subjects assigned to articles helps
Look at the subject terms in records for articles that fit your topic closely and search those subjects for more articles
Use the thesaurus available in some databases to see if your keywords are subjects or if alternative terms are used
Some specialized databases allow you to limit your search in other useful ways: educational level, age, population group, research methodology, language, etc.
Limiter options vary by database:
Make connections through ideas and concepts rather than specific words
Look at the reference list at the end of a relevant scholarly article you found. This may lead you to earlier articles related to your topic. Search the UNH Library catalog by the name of the journal to see if we have the article online or in print.
Check "Times CIted" links, if available, in databases such as PsycINFO and Sociological Abstracts to identify some newer articles citing the article in the database record. This may lead to related relevant articles.
Use Web of Science to follow citations from published articles to identify older and newer related articles across many disciplinary fields in the sciences, social sciences, and arts & humanities.
What else have the author(s) published on this topic? Search their names in the relevant database or look online for their CV (curriculum vitae) or list of publications.
Subject-specific journals may publish articles on similar topics, so try searching within specific journal titles that you see appearing frequently in your search results.
Social work is a multidisciplinary field. Using some of the subject-focused databases listed and a variety of the search methods described above will help you be more effective searchers and get results from recognized, reputable academic sources. These databases are frequently useful for topics in this course.
Depending on your specific topic, one of these specialized databases may be helpful. For more online resources, check out the complete Database List.
Click on the Check for UNH Full Text icon in the database record to see how to get a copy of the article: whether online, in print or from another library.
This 2-minute video provides a brief demonstration.
If the UNH Library doesn't have the article you want, request it through Interlibrary Loan.
Keyword searching across citations, abstracts and full text of articles (even if the full text isn't available to you).
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Enhance efficiency by adjusting these Google Scholar settings so that
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