Keyword Searching
Keyword Search Rules for the Library Catalog and Databases
Using AND/OR/NOT (Boolean Search Operators) |
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AND |
Use AND to focus search and combine different aspects of your topic. Example: health and insurance |
OR |
Use OR to expand your search and find synonyms/related terms. Example: insurance or coverage |
NOT |
Use NOT to exclude a word or phrase from your search Example: insurance not private |
Additional Search Tips |
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"Phrase search" - Use quotation marks" " to search for a particular phrase. Example: "single payer insurance" |
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Truncation * - Use an asterisk to find variations of a word. Put an asterisk following the root of the word to find all variations of that word, including singular and plural. Example: poli* (finds policy, policies, etc.) |
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(Grouping/Nesting Keywords) - Use parentheses ( ) as a way to group all your search terms together. Example: (medicare or medicaid) and "insurance reform" |
See the Basic Search Tips guides for more information, including examples. Or use the Keyword Searching Worksheet to get started.
Cited Reference Searching
- Cited references are found in the bibliographies or works cited sections of a journal article, book or report.
- Cited references can be journal articles, books, reports, white papers, newspaper articles, etc.
- This type of search strategy is useful for locating current articles or research on a topic or identifying top researchers in a field.
- Some of the databases we subscribe to that feature this search startegy are: Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, CSA, Chemical Abstracts, JSTOR, Environment Complete and Google Scholar.
- To learn more about cited reference searching go to http://www.thomsonisi.com/tutorials/citedreference/crs1.htm
Journal and Secondary Literature
Scholarly and Peer Reviewed Journals
- Scholarly and professional journals feature articles written by researchers and practitioners in a particular subject area. The authors often have particular specialties. Peer groups of researchers, scholars and professionals within a specific discipline are the audience for scholarly literature.
- Peer review is a well-accepted indicator of quality scholarship. It is the process by which an author's peers read a paper submitted for publication. A number of recognized researchers in the field will evaluate a manuscript and recommend its publication, revision, or rejection. Articles accepted for publication through a peer review process implicitly meet the discipline's expected standards of expertise.
- Articles in some scholarly and professional journals are not peer-reviewed, but are selected by an editor or board. Standards of scholarship in such journals are often equal or comparable to those of peer-reviewed publications, although this is not always the case.
- Peer-reviewed journals can be identified by their editorial statements or instructions to authors and in sources such as Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory. In Ulrich's, the
icon indicates a "refereed" (peer-reviewed) journal.
(Used and modified by permission from Patrick Ragain, Business and Government Information Librarian, University of Nevada, Reno. http://www.knowledgecenter.unr.edu/instruction/help/peer.html)
Secondary Literature
- Secondary literature includes books, annual reviews, textbooks, and some periodicals. These sources differ from reference materials in at least one important way: secondary sources, like reference materials, may answer factual questions; however, they also present background information and summarize results of scientific work so that you can read the full range of thinking on a particular topic. Secondary literature does not present the most current scientific information, which is found in primary literature.
- Articles in science periodicals such as Discover and Science News are considered secondary literature because they don't present the results of original research, instead such articles synthesize and summarize descriptions of previous scientific work--which makes secondary literature very useful for you.
- Use annual reviews, textbooks, review articles in science periodicals, and books on scientific topics to gain detailed knowledge of a field, to learn about the historical development of a concept, and to become familiar with major researchers in an area of science.
- You can find more secondary sources by using the Tufts Online Catalog, finding a relevant source, and then browsing the book stacks in the call number area where you located the first relevant source. Bibliographies in reference materials may also point you to secondary sources.
Example:
Levine, Robert. Shock therapy for the American health care system : why comprehensive reform is needed. Santa Barbara, Calif. : Praeger, 2009.
