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HIST 5237 & HUMN 5236: Nazi Cinema and the Third Reich: Search Strategy

Search Strategy and Tips

  1. State your topic or research question in your own words.
  2. Identify the most important keywords (usually the nouns) or short, commonly used phrases.
  3. Think of variations (singular, plural) and synonyms for your terms. It may help to check Thesaurus.com.
  4. Create an initial search statement using connectors or logical operators (especially AND, OR) and, if appropriate, wildcards.
  5. Try it out in one or more databases and/or Library Catalog.
  6. Look for other good keywords and subject terms in search results.
  7. Try revised searches until you're satisfied with the results.
  8. Depending on the volume of results, consider narrowing or broadening your topic.
  9. If you're having difficulties, contact us.

Using connectors and wildcards:

Find more (broaden your results) with OR and wildcards:
   drug abuse or drug addiction   (finds either term)
   anorexia or anorexic
   anorexi*   (finds anorexia, anorexic, anorexics, etc.)

Find less (narrow your results) with AND:
   bipolar disorder and drug therapy   (finds both terms)

Find less with NOT:
   attention span not adhd   (excludes records that mention adhd)

Sample search statement:
   (bully* or cyberbully*) and prevent*

Using limiters:

  • Narrow results with standard limiters (peer-reviewed, date, document type, language, etc.)
  • Some databases allow quotation marks for an "exact phrase"
  • PsycINFO has specialized limiters for age groups, population group (human, animal, male, female, inpatient, outpatient), tests and measures, and methodology (clinical case study, empirical study, etc.)
  • Try restricting some terms to the title or abstract field
  • Try restricting some terms to the subject or descriptors field. Subject terms can vary from database to database but using them usually improves relevance so look for them in results displays and detailed records. In PsycINFO, you also can browse a subject terms Thesaurus.

If you're not finding enough:

  • Look for different, relevant keywords or subject terms to try
  • Simplify your search by removing less critical earch terms or limiters
  • Expand some terms to the all text or full text field, if provided
  • Try a different database or OneSearch

Sample Searches

PsycINFO

Caution:  The newest additions to PsycINFO (especially articles with a publication status of "first posting") may not have subject terms assigned yet. While the results won't be as tightly focused, you also may want to try using subject terms as simple keywords (i.e., without requiring them to appear in the subjects field). 

Shows searches that limit terms to Subjects field or DE Exact Subjects field along with a variety of limiters


Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection

Shows search for suicide prevention or suicidal behavior prevention in Subjects and adolescen* or teen* in Subjects and research or study or studie* or data in the Abstract field, limited to peer-reviewed


Library Catalog

Relatively simple searches usually work well. To include limiters such as format, language, etc., use Advanced Search.

Sample search for discriminat* with a wildcard and race or ethnic

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