Doing Research in the Andersen Library, UW-Whitewater

1. Martha Stephenson Reference & Instruction Librarian Doing Research in the Andersen Library, UW-Whitewater

2. Keyword search tips

3. Andersen Library databases are used to find mostly articles

4. An database is an online index of citations, sometimes containing complete articles or other full text. Examples: Academic Search Complete (EbscoHost) JSTOR LexisNexis What is a database?

5. Tips to Save You Time: Find Info Fast

6. How have cell phones effected social interaction between teenagers? Thesis STATEMENT, Issue, Question

7. B R A I N S T O R M

8. and • Use to connect different concepts • Both concepts will be in the results • Narrows search (finds fewer, more on target results) • phones Finds=4053 • cell and phones Finds=1775 Keyword Tip #1: Use AND

9. or • Use to connect similar concepts • At least one term will be in the results • Broadens search (finds more results, is more thorough) • Saves time by doing several searches in one • cell Finds=2474 • cell or cellular Finds=3343 Keyword Tip #2: Use OR

10. Quotation Marks “ ” • Use when words often or always occur in a specific order • All words inside the quotes will be in the results, in the exact order used • Narrows search (finds fewer, more on target results) • cell and phones Finds=1775 • “cell phones”Finds=1223 Keyword Tip #4: Phrases

11. Truncation • Use to find various endings of a word • Place symbol at the end of the rootword • Broadens search (finds more results) • Symbol varies among catalogs & databases • Be careful of placement! • phone* = phone, phoned, phones, phoneme, • & 30 other words • cat* = cat, cats, catatonic, catalytic, catastrophic, & 250 other words Keyword Tip #3: Use Truncation

12. Nesting • Use to assure search runs correctly when using both ands & ors • Like in algebraic equations • Place orpart in parentheses • (“cell phone*”orcellphone*)and teen* Keyword Tip #5: Combinations

13. any questions?