1. How do I search for my topic?
- Identify the keywords of your topic and use those as your search words
- Each article has tags assigned to it, words or shorts phrases that make them searchable - you want your search words to match those tags
- Words like factors, effects, issues, relationships are usually not used as tags - don't include them as search words
- Since you are studying debates, you may need to do two separate searches for articles about each side of the debate and use them to draw your own conclusions
- Example topic:: How do we balance the hunting rights of indigenous people with the need for wildlife conservation of endangered species in nature reserves?
- Search 1: indigenous people hunting rights nature reserves
- Search 2: wildlife conservation endangered species nature reserves
2. How do I focus the search hits to just scholarly sources?
- Use Refine Your Search options to focus your search results to assignment requirements:
- Check the box beside Scholarly & Peer Review
- move the Publication Date scroll bar over to 2000 to present
3. How do I know my search words match the tags assigned to articles about my research question?
- As you scroll through the search hits, look at the Subjects (tags) assigned to the relevant articles you find, and see if they match your search words
- Subjects (tags) also help you identify the specific issues around your topic so you can give it direction and develop it into a focused research question
- Example: some articles use indigenous populations or native people to describe indigenous people
- Modified search: (indigenous OR native) (people OR populations) hunting rights wildlife conservation
- (indigenous OR native) will search for articles or books tagged with any of the words in parentheses
4. I have too many search hits, and a lot of them seem irrelevant. How do I focus them?
- When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned tags (words)
- Add any relevant tags to your search
- This will also help you develop your research topics and search for articles about your main ideas
