POSI 5340: Balanoff: Finding Articles

Search by keywords and small phrases.

Maximize your keyword searches with Boolean searching:

        
 AND 

internet AND teenagers 
all words must appear in the result list 



 OR  



teenagers OR adolescents


either word may appear in the results.




 NOT 




  internet NOT "social network" 


  must mention the term "internet", but excludes 
items with the phrase "social network"

 Note:  some databases use AND NOT rather than NOT 
and Google Scholar uses the minus (-) sign





Use "quotation marks" to search for phrases.

Use the database’s "help" feature to find the syntax for advanced searches. This varies by database

Consider truncation. The asterisk (*) symbol is used most often 

adolescen* will search for all forms of the root, adolesence, adolescent, adolescents 
Try using database Subject or descriptor terms. Those are listed in the database’s thesaurus, or they may be listed near the article abstract. These can be useful for learning the preferred vocabulary of a discipline.

Google Scholar can be a useful tool when collecting research information. Accessing Google Scholar from the Library website page will link to the subscription sources available to you as a Texas State Student. If you do not use the library link for off campus access, you won't be able to access library-subscribed content. If you are off campus, you will be prompted for your TxState NetID to search Google Scholar.