WRIT 151: Writing Studio

Periodicals are the best place to search for topical information, like issues in your field of interest.

Periodicals include magazines and journals. Current issues are shelved  alphabetically on the first floor of the library. Lift the movable shelves for the unbound back issues of each title. 

Annuals are publications that are printed only once a year. These Annuals are shelved alphabetically by title together with the bound periodicals on the 3rd Floor.

Archived titles are publications that we used to subscribe to that no longer exist or no longer receive in print. These periodicals are shelved alphabetically by title in the bound periodicals section on the 3rd Floor.

Find Periodicals for My Major

When you search in the library catalog, an article database, or even in Google, you will have to formulate search terms, also known as keywords. 

Keywords are the everyday words you use to describe your topic. If you are having trouble thinking of a variety of keywords, use an online thesaurus, like thesaurus.com to generate more keyword ideas.

You can also use encyclopedias and other reference resources to help learn more about a topic and to generate more keywords/search terms.

Link Keywords Effectively (Boolean Searching)

Boolean operators are words you use to link your search terms together when searching for resources. 

Use them to increase or decrease the number of search results to find what you need

Adapted from Montana State University.

Not happy with your search results? 

Increase your results. If your search is of a narrowly focused nature as to return only a few results, eliminate one of the less-important concepts.

• This search returns very few results: "art museums" AND programs AND "financial development" AND "technological advances". Try eliminating "technological advances".
• Use synonyms. In the example above, you may retrieve more results by typing ("financial development" OR "economic development"). Your entire search would look like this: "childrens museums" AND programs and ("financial development" OR "economic development") AND "technological advances".
• Use an asterisk to retrieve alternate word endings: galler* will return gallery, galleries, etc.

Reduce your results.

• "museums" is too broad of a search in library databases. Try adding a population, a time frame, or an outcome. Any combination of those aspects will increase the relevance and amount of your results. Make sure to use quotations around phrases.

Why is it important to check for sources in subscription databases and library catalogs?

Isn't Google the biggest and best database? Google isn't actually a database because it isn't really organized or consistent.

So, then, what is a database? A database is a collection of logically related records that can be read by a computer. Computerized address books and online library catalogs are examples of commonly used databases.

Why do I need databases if everything I need can be found on Google?

There is a tremendous amount of information that is NOT available on Google. Even if information is delivered via Google, it may not be free. This is what is known as the "invisible" or "deep" web. 

Google only indexes a small portion of the Internet. The library has access to subscription databases that can give you much more -- and better-- information!

Better? Is what I find in a database more reliable than what is found on the Web? Generally, yes. Information in a database has at least been selected by editors. For periodical databases, the articles were printed first in a magazine, journal, or newspaper that had editors. Many databases add value to the content by organizing it and by adding subjects.

In contrast, anyone can put up anything on the Web. Some of it is edited, selected, and monitored, but much of it is not. And the formats can vary widely so it is sometimes hard to know exactly what it is you have found.

Adapted from CCAD.