Library Database Tips
Refining Your Results List
Did you retrieve way too many results? Overwhelmed? Or, just not satisfied with the results?
Reduce your results to a manageable number by narrowing your search or modifying the keywords as needed. Try a few of the following tips.
Tip #1
- Filter your results by publication date and/or source type
Tip #2
- Add more keywords in the search box
Tip #3
Try using synonyms for your key terms:
- Example: Instead of "death penalty," try "capital punishment"
- Example: Instead of "global warming," try "climate change"
Tip #4
Rather than searching for the broad topic or cause/effect of your topic, try to search for one specific cause/effect:
- Example: Instead of searching for causes of alcoholism, try searching for alcoholism genetics, or alcoholism family history, or alcoholism anxiety.
- Example: Instead of searching for effects of divorce on children, try searching for divorce children academic achievement, or divorce children life satisfaction, or divorce children aggression
Article Tools
When using a library database, you can usually click on the title of an article to view additional information, as well as a list of handy tools to save, print, email, and cite the article! Always keep an eye out for the tools available to you in various library databases.