Where and how do I start my research?
Answer
Image of Library Search box from the Library homepage.
Where and how to start your research?
A good starting point for your research is the search box on the library homepage. This discovery tool searches across all of our content including articles, books, eBooks, streaming videos, and more.
Start simply, using two of your main ideas or concepts (“keywords”) joined with AND. Use two or three words to begin searching. Search words are not case-sensitive.
For example:
- viruses AND vaccines
- global warming AND climate change
- racism AND prejudice
The more keywords you use, the fewer your search results. Using just a few keywords for starters gets you many more hits which can be easily narrowed down in a few easy steps. For more on refining your search results, see this guide on Boolean Operators.
You may want to limit your search to articles, books, videos, etc by using the Resource Type filter from the results page.
If your research topic falls within a specific field of study, like Psychology or Nursing, you may find a better variety of sources more quickly using the subject-specific databases on the A-Z Database List.