How Exactly Can Librarians Help Me?
Librarians help with the following research-related activities:
- Narrowing down a topic
- Suggesting resources for finding credible background information on a topic
- Coming up with effective search terms
- Finding books and articles
- Figuring out which research tools are the best fit for your topic (there are over 350 choices!)
- Getting more (and better) search results
- Saving, emailing and printing articles
- Getting books and articles from other libraries
- Creating bibliographies with RefWorks
Tips for Searching Catalogs and Databases
The following techniques can improve your success with online searching, whether you're searching a catalog for books or a database for articles:
- Enter phrases in quotes: "body image" "aerobic exercise"
- Use truncation symbols to search for alternate word endings: In most databases, entering athlet* searches for athletic, athletics, athlete, and atheletes.
- If one term doesn't work, try a few others. Experiment with different vocabulary related to your topic. Brainstorm ideas for relevant keywords and use background sources such as encyclopedias for suggestions.
