Check out the library's self-paced tutorial How do I search library databases? to learn the basics of database searches.
1. What is Mardigian Search and why should I use it?
- Mardigian Search is the library's Discovery search box, which looks through all of the library's databases at once.
- Mardigian Search is great for:
- finding out what's been studied in your research area
- finding sources about interdisciplinary topics
- finding specific articles
2. How do I search for articles about my topic?
- Identify the keywords of your argument 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, strategies, effects, issues, relationships are usually not used as tags - don't include them as search words
- Example topic: Which strategies are effective for helping university students cope with stress?
- Search: "university students" stress coping
- "university students" will search it as a phrase, not separate words
3. I'm looking for a specific article or book. How do I find out if the library has it?
- Enter the title into the search box, removing all punctuation
4. How do I focus the search hits to relevant articles that meet my assignment requirements?
- Use Refine Your Search options to focus your search results
- Peer-reviewed articles:
- Check Peer Reviewed
- Check Journal article under Content Type
- By Date:
- Under Publication Date, move the scroll bar over to your preferred oldest year of publication
- To Psychology articles
- Under Discipline, check psychology
5. How do I preview the abstract/summary of articles in the list of search hits?
- Click on Quick Look below the article title
6. How do I access the article so I can read the whole thing?
- Click on Full Text Online
- Look for pdf Full Text or HTML Full Text links
7. I can't find anything on my topic. What do I do?
- The search words you're using to describe your topic may not match the tags that have been assigned to books and articles on that topic
- Look through the Subject terms in the Refine Your Search sidebar and check the boxes beside the topic areas that interest you
- When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned tags/subjects
- Add any relevant tags to your search
- This will also help you develop your research questions and search for articles about your specific research questions
- There may not be research tying your main ideas together yet
- Try searching for your main ideas separately and linking their findings together
- If you've found one article that's relevant for your topic, look through the sources in its References list to see if any of them are also relevant to your research
- Ask the Psychology Librarian, Nadine Anderson, for help
