Frequently Used Resources:
To make your searches more effective, try these methods:
Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) can make your searching more efficient.They can help narrow your search (such as AND), broaden (such as OR), or make your search more exact (such as “”). Let's think of as in ordering a pizza. You want a pizza...
Never take information at face value or assume a source is a "good" one just because it came from the library. Instead, think about what the source adds to your understanding of your topic, how it might be used in your paper, and what kind of expertise the author brings to the discussion.
Some things to consider:
When doing research, you may come across some unfamiliar words. Here is a list of common research terms.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Abstract | An abstract is a short summary of a document. Abstracts are useful because they allow you to quickly determine if a document fits your topic. |
| Citation | The citation provides the bibliographic information for a source. It lets the reader know who is responsible for creating a source you reference in your project, when it was created, and gives the reader all the information needed to retrieve that source for further examination. |
| Database | An organized collection of stored data which is usually searchable by keywords, subject, topic, language, and/or date. The library subscribes to a range of databases that relate directly to courses offered at UC. |
| DOI |
DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier. A DOI is a string of letters and numbers used to identify an electronic document. While the web address (URL) where a work is located may change, the DOI remains the same. |
| Full-Text | This means the whole document is available online. |
| Journal | A publication, produced periodically on a schedule, that provides research articles in a particular field of study. Journal articles report on primary research and offer insight and evaluation of the results. |
| Keyword Search | A key word search looks for a particular word or words within a document. The advantage of key word searching is that it is quick. The disadvantage is it often produces results unrelated to your topic, and misses those that use a different term. |
| Peer-Reviewed | Peer-reviewed resources have been examined by a panel of experts. Peer-reviewed resources are also scholarly documents. |
| Primary Source | Primary sources are records that provide first-hand testimony or evidence of an event, action, topic, or time period. Primary sources can vary depending on the subject. |
| Scholarly | A scholarly resource is written by an expert in his or her field. A scholarly resource is not always peer-reviewed. |
| Subject Search | Libraries and databases categorize items by subject. By searching by subject, you get results that are closely related and it is more efficient than keyword searching. |
| Secondary Source | Secondary sources put primary sources in context. They summarize, interpret, analyze, or comment on information found in primary sources. |
