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FASHN 330 (Giovannetti)

FASHN 330 (Giovannetti)

How to Use Library Databases

Search Strategies

  • Start your research with the SCC Library's OneSearch.
  • Research always takes longer than you expect it to.
  • It's important to identify the most important words for your topic - these are your keywords. Then find synonyms and related forms so that you're armed with several different searching options.
  • Leave out minor words such as with, during, the, etc.
  • If the topic you are looking for is a phrase, it's best to search it with quotes around it, such as "cognitive dissonance."  This tells the database to search for those words together in that specific order.
  • In most databases, if you type the beginning of a word and then type an asterisk (*), the database will match any word that begins with those letters. For instance: philo* matches philosophy, philosophers, philodendron, etc.
  • Build your search. Start with 1-3 words. Add more words to narrow it down. If you start by typing a sentence and don't find many results, you don't know which word or phrase is the problem.
  • Add on extra words to narrow down your results. More words = fewer results.
  • What do you expect to find? If you don't find it, change your search and try again. Think of research like an experiment. Keep trying until you get the results you're looking for.

OneSearch in One Minute

The Benefits of Keyword Searching