Composition 102

ALWAYS CLICK ON ADVANCED SEARCH.

Use the "boolean operators" to narrow or broaden your search. Boolean operators are the "and, or, not" options in the advanced search.  

• AND will provide the most specific results.

• OR will provide the broadest results.

• NOT will exclude the terms you provide

"Using the Databases." Research - Expert Level. Crossett Library at Bennington College. 13 May 2016. Web. 3 August 2016.

Subject Terms are how the databases think of your topic

Keywords are how we communicate with the database.

For example, if you are searching for articles about "teenagers who smoke", the database may also have articles that will fit your needs using the terms "adolescents" or "young adults".

    You can specify an author or title in your         search terms by clicking on "Select a Field"

Remember:

1. "Full text" will show you articles immediately available in our collection.  

2. "Search within the full text of the articles" will broaden your results. 

3. "Peer Reviewed" will ensure you find scholarly articles.

4. "Publication Date" will narrow your results by date.

Peer-reviewed sources are researched and written by an expert in a field and then are put before a board of other experts in that field to be peer-reviewed.  You can indicate within the databases that you want your results to be scholarly and peer-reviewed.

Popular sources are easier to understand than peer-reviewed sources.  They are created for the average person to read an enjoy.  Peer-reviewed articles are meant to educate the researcher. 

Other terms used for peer-reviewed documents are scholarly articles and academic articles.

Popular Magazine                                Peer-Reviewed Journal

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Video courtesy of North Carolina State University Libraries