Always use the advanced search interface and some combination of the following techniques to increase the effectiveness of your searches:
| Search Technique | What It Does |
| quotation marks | Searches for exact phrase |
| Truncation (usually an *) | Searches for all forms of a word |
| Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) | Lets you broaden or narrow your search |
| Database thesaurus or index | Allows you to pinpoint the exact indexing terms the database uses |
Use subject databases (like Historical Abstracts) to identify scholarly journal articles. Then use Primo Journal Search to find out if the library has access--either electronically or in paper/microform format--to the article you need.
If Collins Library does not provide access, you can use Tipasa, the online interlibrary loan request system, to obtain the article.
Use full text databases (like JSTOR) to search, but don't limit yourself to them. They offer great convenience and the power of full text searching; but they do not cover as wide a variety of publications, and may not be able to search recent publications.