Tips for effective searching:
- Determine the broad topic.
- Write down the words you associate with that topic. These will be keywords you can use to search for materials.
- You may have to search and revise your search several times to find relevant materials.
- Identify related topics associated with the topic by browsing a variety of sources (related topics will help to generate more keywords to use to narrow the search, that is, to make the search results more specific):
- Books or eBooks
- Library periodical databases.
- Internet sources such as national park sites or history museum resources
- Turn your topics into effective search terms.
- Decide if your search term is a commonly used phrase, e.g., “american history,” or two separate ideas, e.g., “united states” and “history.”
- Combine terms. Why combine terms?
- Combining terms is a step in Boolean algebra. See the Boolean Machine for visual examples of Boolean searches.
- Some databases supply the AND for you. Read search suggestions or HELP before searching a database.
- Or combine phrases,using the command AND, e.g., “united states” AND “civil war."
- Combine terms to reduce the number of retrieved items.
- Combine terms to make the search more relevant.
- Combine again, if needed, e.g., "united states" AND "civil war" AND "gettysburg."
- Keep track of which terms you have used and whether they were successful.
- Write the search terms down.
- Identify credible sources, that is, reliable sources.
- See the Research Guide Evaluating Sources for more information.
- Library databases have high-quality information and articles, and several are specific to history topics:
- Browse results of your search at each stage to determine if you have found relevant sources. Retrieved items do not have to be perfect! You can use relevant portions.
- Ask a librarian for help.
