Unlike Google, library databases don’t search in full questions. Instead, they rely on keywords—the most important words from your research question or topic.

Tips for Building Keywords

1. Focus on the Big Ideas: Pick out the unique terms in your research question.
   ✅ Good keywords: memory, attention, theatrical performance
   ❌ Weak keywords: effect, things, good

2. Use 2–4 Keywords: Too few = irrelevant results, Too many = no results.

3. Mix & Match: Try different keyword combinations.

4. Think of Synonyms: Authors may use different words for the same idea.

• actors → performers

• cognitive processes → mental processes

5. Use Subject Terms: Look for subject terms in articles for precise results. These are official topic labels added by the database and can lead you to more precise results.

Use Advanced Search and limit features whenever possible. Subset limits, date limits, citation searches, subject searches, etc. -- are all useful timesavers.

More Search Tips:

• Start with a general search.
• Use quotes for phrases.
  • "modern dance"
• Use AND to find all the words on your topic.
• Use OR to find any of the words on your topic.
  • ex. dance AND (male OR masculinity OR men)
• The symbol * is used as a right hand truncation character in most databases; it will find all forms of a word.
  • Ex. danc* will retrieve dance, dancers, dancing, etc.
• Be flexible in your searching.

Too MUCH Information?

• Use more specific words.
• Narrow your search by adding more words connecting them with AND.
• Do a subject search instead of a keyword search.
• Put phrases in quotation marks.

Too LITTLE Information?

• Try different search words, including synonyms, broader terms, or related words.
• Use the truncation symbol * to get all forms of a word.
• Try a different database.
• Ask a librarian for help.

Being able to interpret a citation is an important research skill. Mining citations is an effective research strategy for finding related sources, learning about the development of knowledge on a topic, and understanding the origins and development of a theory.

Conventions for documenting sources vary by discipline, but typically a citation tells you enough basic information to go and find the item no matter what style is used (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

There are three steps in following a citation trail to locate an item at Collins Library.

1. Read the citation to determine what kind of source you are looking for (a book, an article, something else).
2. Choose the essential citation information you need to locate the item.
3. Use Primo to search using the citation information.

Find the references section in either the article or book linked below. It may be labelend "References," "Works Cited," or "Bibliography." Choose one or two citations and search Primo to see if the resource is available through Collins Library.

TIP: If it's not available, you may be able to use Summit or interlibrary loan to obtain a copy.