When beginning research, you might here a few terms that seem related but may be confusing:
Search engine - This is where most people are comfortable and familiar with searching, like Google. These pull results from across the web, but don't actually contain any of that information themselves.
Catalog - A library catalog keeps all the records for content held in a library. This gives you information about the books, articles, and more that are held by the library along with information about how to find them. Use the catalog to find books or to search many of the library databases at once.
Database - This is where you'll find most of your trustworthy information and sources for your bibliography. Databases have a search feature to access sources like articles and books, but unlike search engines they actually host all of the content that you see in the search results. Databases can cover all subjects or address one specific subject. Look for databases that relate to your topic in the library's list of databases.
Article - An article is a short piece of writing that you can use to learn more about a topic and find specific information for your research. Not all sources are articles! While there are different types of articles --- news articles, trade journal articles, and scholarly articles --- not all of these will be appropriate to your research. You can use all of the platforms above --- search engines, catalogs, and databases --- to find articles for your research.
A good research topic...
Can’t think of a topic to research? Get ideas from:
The Art of Horsemanship by Explore web resources compiled by Centenary University on a variety of equine topics to get started:
Sources that provide a broad, general view of a topic are a great place to get quick facts and ideas. Bear in mind you will not end your research here - you still need to use in-depth sources to complete your project (see next tab).
Starter sources include:
Search terms (or keywords) are single words and short phrases that describe your topic. Search terms are entered into the library catalog and databases and can be refined throughout the research process.
Find search terms in:
Finding too much information?
Your topic may be too broad. Narrow it by:
Not finding enough information?
Your topic may be too narrow. Broaden it by:
You need to be very careful when using information found on the internet for your research. Because anyone can create websites, information on the web cannot be trusted. That said, the internet can be very useful for some things. Wikipedia and Google can be good places to begin research to find key terms or citations for more trustworthy sources, but they should NEVER be where you end your research.
Customize your search to improve results.
HINT: This is where brainstorming a list of keywords related to your topic comes in handy!
“ ” Group keywords with quotation marks to search as an exact phrase.
Example: “the night watchman”
* Use the asterisk if you want to search multiple iterations of a keyword.
Example: sculpt* = sculpture, sculptors, sculpted
& Use AND to combine several keywords or phrases.
Example: "Ai Wei Wei" AND installation
+ Use OR to search for information about one term, and also articles about another term.
Example: sustainable OR eco-friendly
- Use NOT to search for information about one term, while excluding another term
Example: Michaelangelo NOT turtle
Advanced Search features make it easy to narrow a large result list. For example: