ART 106H - Robertson - Spring 2024: Search Tips

Keywords and concepts describe the main idea(s) of your topic and enable you to focus your research.

• Based on your assigned texts, jot down the terms that you identify as the keywords and main concepts.
• Use background information from reference sources such as the Gale Virtual Reference Library to find additional keywords and synonyms.
• Group the keywords by concept.
• Identify synonyms of your keywords (e.g., synonyms for "teenagers" are adolescents, youths, and children).

Use quotation marks (") around phrases to search for exact phrases or titles. 

This is also handy in Google searching.

Examples: 

"health care reform"

"texting while driving"

"As You Like It"

Use truncation (*) to find word variants. Examples:

Adolescen* retrieves the following:
adolescent
adolescents
adolescence

Advertis* retrieves the following:
advertise
advertising
advertisement

Teen* retrieves the following:
Teen
Teens
Teenager
Teenagers
Teenaged

Use related terms/synonyms to refine your search:

Example 1:

• Global Warming
• Climate Change

Example 2:

• Capital Punishment
• Death Penalty
• Lethal Injection