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Getting Started with Online Library Research

This guide is designed to help with research guidance, whether formulating a research topic or searching for relevant information

Searching for Information On the Web and via Databases

Introduction

Whimsical sketches of people looking in different directions using various aids, such as binoculars.

(redgreystock on Freepik Free with attribution)

When working on a research assignment, you'll use both search engines (like Google) and library databases to find information. Where you search will depend on your topic and how far along you are in the research process.

The mythical idea of "one perfect source"

(North Carolina State University Libraries, 2014, CC BY-NC-SA)

Online Searches

When you search for information online, you'll likely use a combination of general web searching and library database searching. 

Features of General Web Searching

  • Broad 
  • Convenient 
  • Free  
  • Note: It is more challenging to narrow results effectively, find relevant material, and assess the legitimacy of information in your search results when using a search engine for general web searching

 

Databases

Library databases are collections of published information from magazines, journals, and newspapers. Library databases can be general (all disciplines) or discipline-specific (e.g. a psychology database). Libraries pay subscription fees so that faculty, staff, and students can access databases. 

Why use a database?

  • Tend to be Reliable 
  • Relevant and Customizable
  • Access to Full-Text, Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Sources

 

General Research Tips

Always be sure to read your assignment carefully and ask your instructor if you are unsure what sources to consult.

And if you are ever in doubt about the reliability and credibility of a resource or need assistance finding a proper resource, do not hesitate to ask a librarian!

Library Catalog Searches

The Jim Dan Hill Library Catalog

The catalog of the Jim Dan Hill Library can search library holdings in the Universities of Wisconsin

You can search for:

  • A Keyword, such as is shown here

Image of the Entry to the Catalog Search Page

 

You can also, once in the catalog, select the dropdown "anywhere in the record" to specify a search for words that are catalogued:

  • in the title
  • in the author's name
  • as a "subject" (usually one or two words or brief phrases)
    • If you find an item that seems of interest, note the "subject" terms listed in the record, as you may want to look at other items with those terms

 

You can select the dropdown by "Search Anywhere in the Record" to narrow

In general, the process of searching the catalog is like searching a database, rather than using a search engine (such as Google).

You can also see specific catalog search tips here [the focus is on a given topic, but the approach holds true across different topics]

Database Searching - Getting Started

Searching a Database

Since databases are products created and sold by different companies and with different focuses and audiences, they don't all look the same.

  • Most databases contain a search box, which is where you'll type keywords that you've identified to describe your topic.

  • The database will return results that contain the keywords you've entered.

  • You can also tell the database that you only want to see articles that were published within a certain date range, that come from a certain type of source, or that are available to view as a full-text document.

Example: EBSCOhost is a company that produces several popular databases, such as Academic Search Ultimate (general/multidisciplinary), Business Source Premier (business), Child Development and Adolescent Studies (education and counseling), and CINAHL (nursing). Here is a video that demonstrates a search in an EBSCOhost database. 

 

Page Credits

The content for this module includes materials from the Reference Librarians of the Jim Dan Hill Library and content drawn from the following sources:

EBSCO Tutorials. (2022, March 23). EBSCOHost basic search - tutorial [Video].  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT833d5F2yI

North Carolina State University Libraries.  (2014, July 9). One perfect source? https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/perfect-source

Undergraduate Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (n.d.). Compare databases and search engines.  https://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/compare1/

University of Toledo Libraries. (n.d.). Quality teaching & learning: Information literacy in Blackboard.  https://libguides.utoledo.edu/QTL/blackboard 

 

Adapted from PALNI Information Literacy Module 2.
All of the PALNI Information Literacy Modules are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.