{"id":197,"date":"2017-07-20T16:30:59","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T16:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/chapter\/how-to-search-in-a-library-database\/"},"modified":"2017-07-20T16:30:59","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T16:30:59","slug":"how-to-search-in-a-library-database","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/chapter\/how-to-search-in-a-library-database\/","title":{"raw":"How to Search in a Library Database","rendered":"How to Search in a Library Database"},"content":{"raw":"<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"\/>Scholarly databases like the ones your library subscribes are different than search engines like Google and Yahoo because:\n<ul><li>They often contain information that is not publicly or freely available.<\/li>\n \t<li>Some databases have unique tools or strategies for finding information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDatabases may look different but they can all be used in similar ways. Most databases can be searched using <strong>keywords\u00a0<\/strong>or <strong>fields<\/strong>. In a keyword search, you want to search for the main concepts or synonyms of your keywords. A field is a specific part of a record in a database. Common fields that can be searched are author, title, subject, or abstract.\u00a0If you already know the author of a specific article, entering their \"Last Name, First Name\" in the author field will pull more relevant records than a keyword search. This will ensure all results are articles written by the author and not articles about that author or with that author\u2019s name. For example, a\u00a0keyword search for \"Albert Einstein\" will search anywhere in the record for Albert Einstein and reveal 12, 719 results. Instead, a field search for Author: \"Einstein, Albert\" will show 54 results, all written by Albert Einstein.\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.uci.edu\/sites\/tutorials\/BeginResearch\/public\/demo\/Fields\/Fields.html\">This short video<\/a> demonstrates how to perform\u00a0a title search within the popular EBSCO database, <em>Academic Search Complete<\/em>.\n\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Practice: Keyword Search<\/h3>\n1. Identify the keywords in the following research question:\u00a0\"How does repeated pesticide use in agriculture impact soil and groundwater pollution?\"\n\n[practice-area rows=\"2\"][\/practice-area]\n[reveal-answer q=\"626732\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"626732\"]Pesticide, agriculture, soil, groundwater,\u00a0pollution. You want to focus on the main idea and can ignore common words that don't have any meaning. [\/hidden-answer]\n\n2. When you search, it's helpful to think of synonyms for your keywords to examine various results.\u00a0What synonyms can you think of for the keywords\u00a0identified in the question above?\n\n[practice-area rows=\"2\"][\/practice-area]\n[reveal-answer q=\"333998\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"333998\"]<strong>Pesticide<\/strong>: agrochemicals, pest management, weed management, diazinan, malathion. <strong>Agriculture<\/strong>: farming, food crops, specific types of crops. <strong>Soil<\/strong>: earth, clay, organic components. <strong>Groundwater<\/strong>: watershed, water resources, water table, aquatics, rivers, lakes. <strong>Pollution<\/strong>: environmental impact, degradation, exposure, acid rain\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\n<\/div>\nSometimes you already have a citation (maybe you found it on Google Scholar or saw it linked through another source), but want to find the article. Everything you need to locate your article is already found in the citation.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_2019\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"633\"]<img class=\"wp-image-2019\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163055\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-03-at-2.41.02-PM.png\" alt=\"An article citation beginning with the title &quot;Effect of cattle age, forage level, and corn processing on diet, digestion, and feedlot performance.&quot; Next the authors are listed: Gorocica-Buenfil, M.A.; Loerch, S.C. Then comes the title of the journal: Journal of Animal Science. The date of publication: March 2005. And lastly, the volume and issue number (Vol. 81 Issue 3) and page numbers (705-714).\" width=\"633\" height=\"243\"\/> CC-BY-NC-SA image from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.uci.edu\/sites\/tutorials\/BeginResearch\/public\/articles_8.html\">UCI Libraries Begin Research Online Workshop Tutorial<\/a>.[\/caption]\n\nMany databases, including the library catalog, offer tools to help you narrow or expand your search. Take advantage of these.\u00a0The most common tools are\u00a0Boolean searching and truncation.\n<h2>Boolean Searching<\/h2>\nBoolean searching allows you to use AND, OR, and NOT to combine your search terms.\u00a0Here are some examples:\n<ol><li><strong style=\"line-height: 1.5\">\"Endangered Species\" AND \"Global Warming\"<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">\u00a0When you combine search terms with AND, you'll get results in which BOTH terms are present. Using AND limits the number of results because all search terms must appear in your results.<\/span>\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_2020\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"181\"]<img class=\"wp-image-2020 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163056\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-03-at-2.15.38-PM.png\" alt=\"Two overlapping circles, indicating the area where the search containing AND overlaps.\" width=\"181\" height=\"97\"\/> \"Endangered Species\" AND \"Global Warming\" will narrow your search results to where the two concepts overlap.[\/caption]<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>\"Arizona Prisons\" OR \"Rhode Island Prisons\"<\/strong>\u00a0When you use OR, you'll get results with EITHER search term. Using OR increases the number of results because either search term can appear in your results.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_2021\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"208\"]<img class=\"wp-image-2021 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163057\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-03-at-2.16.04-PM.png\" alt=\"Search results showing two distinct circles, representing double the amount of search results.\" width=\"208\" height=\"95\"\/> \"Arizona Prisons\" OR \"Rhode Island Prisons\" will increase your search results.[\/caption]<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>\"Miami Dolphins\" NOT \"Football\"\u00a0<\/strong>When you use NOT, you'll get results that exclude a search term. Using NOT limits the number of results.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[caption id=\"attachment_2022\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"111\"]<img class=\"wp-image-2022 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163058\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-03-at-2.17.35-PM.png\" alt=\"Image of a big green circle with a white circle inside of it, representing the removal of some search results.\" width=\"111\" height=\"98\"\/> \"Miami Dolphins\" NOT \"Football\" removes the white circle (football) from the green search results (Miami Dolphins).[\/caption]\n<h2>Truncation<\/h2>\nTruncation allows you to search different forms of the same word at the same time.\u00a0Use the root of a word and add an asterisk (*) as a substitute for the word's ending.\u00a0It\u00a0can save time and increase your search to include related words. For example, a search\u00a0\u00a0for \"Psycho*\" would pull results on\u00a0psychology, psychological, psychologist, psychosis, and psychoanalyst.","rendered":"<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Scholarly databases like the ones your library subscribes are different than search engines like Google and Yahoo because:<br \/>\nThey often contain information that is not publicly or freely available.<br \/>\n \tSome databases have unique tools or strategies for finding information.<\/p>\n<p>Databases may look different but they can all be used in similar ways. Most databases can be searched using <strong>keywords\u00a0<\/strong>or <strong>fields<\/strong>. In a keyword search, you want to search for the main concepts or synonyms of your keywords. A field is a specific part of a record in a database. Common fields that can be searched are author, title, subject, or abstract.\u00a0If you already know the author of a specific article, entering their &#8220;Last Name, First Name&#8221; in the author field will pull more relevant records than a keyword search. This will ensure all results are articles written by the author and not articles about that author or with that author\u2019s name. For example, a\u00a0keyword search for &#8220;Albert Einstein&#8221; will search anywhere in the record for Albert Einstein and reveal 12, 719 results. Instead, a field search for Author: &#8220;Einstein, Albert&#8221; will show 54 results, all written by Albert Einstein.<\/p>\n<p>Learn More<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.uci.edu\/sites\/tutorials\/BeginResearch\/public\/demo\/Fields\/Fields.html\">This short video<\/a> demonstrates how to perform\u00a0a title search within the popular EBSCO database, <em>Academic Search Complete<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Practice: Keyword Search<br \/>\n1. Identify the keywords in the following research question:\u00a0&#8220;How does repeated pesticide use in agriculture impact soil and groundwater pollution?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"2\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q626732\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q626732\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Pesticide, agriculture, soil, groundwater,\u00a0pollution. You want to focus on the main idea and can ignore common words that don&#8217;t have any meaning. <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>2. When you search, it&#8217;s helpful to think of synonyms for your keywords to examine various results.\u00a0What synonyms can you think of for the keywords\u00a0identified in the question above?<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"2\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q333998\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q333998\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\"><strong>Pesticide<\/strong>: agrochemicals, pest management, weed management, diazinan, malathion. <strong>Agriculture<\/strong>: farming, food crops, specific types of crops. <strong>Soil<\/strong>: earth, clay, organic components. <strong>Groundwater<\/strong>: watershed, water resources, water table, aquatics, rivers, lakes. <strong>Pollution<\/strong>: environmental impact, degradation, exposure, acid rain\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sometimes you already have a citation (maybe you found it on Google Scholar or saw it linked through another source), but want to find the article. Everything you need to locate your article is already found in the citation.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2019\" style=\"width: 643px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2019\" class=\"wp-image-2019\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163055\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-03-at-2.41.02-PM.png\" alt=\"An article citation beginning with the title &quot;Effect of cattle age, forage level, and corn processing on diet, digestion, and feedlot performance.&quot; Next the authors are listed: Gorocica-Buenfil, M.A.; Loerch, S.C. Then comes the title of the journal: Journal of Animal Science. The date of publication: March 2005. And lastly, the volume and issue number (Vol. 81 Issue 3) and page numbers (705-714).\" width=\"633\" height=\"243\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2019\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">CC-BY-NC-SA image from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.uci.edu\/sites\/tutorials\/BeginResearch\/public\/articles_8.html\">UCI Libraries Begin Research Online Workshop Tutorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Many databases, including the library catalog, offer tools to help you narrow or expand your search. Take advantage of these.\u00a0The most common tools are\u00a0Boolean searching and truncation.<br \/>\nBoolean Searching<br \/>\nBoolean searching allows you to use AND, OR, and NOT to combine your search terms.\u00a0Here are some examples:<br \/>\n<strong style=\"line-height: 1.5\">&#8220;Endangered Species&#8221; AND &#8220;Global Warming&#8221;<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">\u00a0When you combine search terms with AND, you&#8217;ll get results in which BOTH terms are present. Using AND limits the number of results because all search terms must appear in your results.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2020\" style=\"width: 191px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2020\" class=\"wp-image-2020 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163056\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-03-at-2.15.38-PM.png\" alt=\"Two overlapping circles, indicating the area where the search containing AND overlaps.\" width=\"181\" height=\"97\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2020\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Endangered Species&#8221; AND &#8220;Global Warming&#8221; will narrow your search results to where the two concepts overlap.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> \t<strong>&#8220;Arizona Prisons&#8221; OR &#8220;Rhode Island Prisons&#8221;<\/strong>\u00a0When you use OR, you&#8217;ll get results with EITHER search term. Using OR increases the number of results because either search term can appear in your results.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2021\" style=\"width: 218px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2021\" class=\"wp-image-2021 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163057\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-03-at-2.16.04-PM.png\" alt=\"Search results showing two distinct circles, representing double the amount of search results.\" width=\"208\" height=\"95\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2021\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Arizona Prisons&#8221; OR &#8220;Rhode Island Prisons&#8221; will increase your search results.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> \t<strong>&#8220;Miami Dolphins&#8221; NOT &#8220;Football&#8221;\u00a0<\/strong>When you use NOT, you&#8217;ll get results that exclude a search term. Using NOT limits the number of results.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2022\" style=\"width: 121px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2022\" class=\"wp-image-2022 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2232\/2017\/07\/20163058\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-03-at-2.17.35-PM.png\" alt=\"Image of a big green circle with a white circle inside of it, representing the removal of some search results.\" width=\"111\" height=\"98\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2022\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Miami Dolphins&#8221; NOT &#8220;Football&#8221; removes the white circle (football) from the green search results (Miami Dolphins).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Truncation<br \/>\nTruncation allows you to search different forms of the same word at the same time.\u00a0Use the root of a word and add an asterisk (*) as a substitute for the word&#8217;s ending.\u00a0It\u00a0can save time and increase your search to include related words. For example, a search\u00a0\u00a0for &#8220;Psycho*&#8221; would pull results on\u00a0psychology, psychological, psychologist, psychosis, and psychoanalyst.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-197\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Bowman Library Research Skills Tutorial, Boolean search images. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Menlo College. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.menlo.edu\/library\/research\/tutorial\/#module3\">http:\/\/www.menlo.edu\/library\/research\/tutorial\/#module3<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Begin Research Tutorial. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: UCI Libraries. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: University of California, Irvine. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.uci.edu\/sites\/tutorials\/BeginResearch\/public\/articles.html\">http:\/\/www.lib.uci.edu\/sites\/tutorials\/BeginResearch\/public\/articles.html<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">Lumen Learning authored content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Revision and Adaptation. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":19,"menu_order":7,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"lumen\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Bowman Library Research Skills Tutorial, Boolean search images\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Menlo College\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.menlo.edu\/library\/research\/tutorial\/#module3\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Begin Research Tutorial\",\"author\":\"UCI Libraries\",\"organization\":\"University of California, Irvine\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.lib.uci.edu\/sites\/tutorials\/BeginResearch\/public\/articles.html\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"271ce03e-afa8-45cd-8d13-b583f258a149, 6c1a6ea8-6ab8-47c2-9856-39b261adbc2b","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-197","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":176,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/197\/revisions"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/176"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/197\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=197"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=197"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-geneseo-styleguide2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}