Searching in a Database

Vocabulary

- - abstract
  - AND (Logic Operator)
  - database
  - keywords
  - phrase

Introduction

Great, you've found a database you want to use. But now, how do you actually search in the database?

You can use all the same skills we talked about with creating a search strategy:

- - - Find the keywords in your topic or research question
    - Use "AND" to combine your keywords. Some databases already have separate boxes for you to use for each keyword or concept, and have "AND" included
    - AND is a logic operator; it tells the database how to put together and search the keywords you add
    - Use quotation marks around keyword concepts that are more than one word, so that the database search engine searches for those words together in that order as one idea, as a phrase

For example, if your topic is on gambling addiction in British Columbia, you could use this search:

gambling AND addiction AND "british columbia"

A potential database for this research topic would be JSTOR because it is a broad interdisciplinary database that covers multiple subject areas. Watch the video below to see how you can conduct this search in the JSTOR database.

Watch the video to learn more

Link to: Transcript for Searching A Database

Link to: Transcript of 'Searching in a Database'

Activity:

3. Create your own search (or use the example above) and type it into a database of your choice.

In another window, use Summon (the general search box on the home page) and enter the same search.

Then, reflect on these questions

- What do you notice about the search results?
- Why might you use a particular database instead of Summon to find results?

(Need the worksheet? Finding Sources Advanced Worksheet.docx)

Have an idea on how to improve this content, or see a mistake? Let us know