How to Search
Science
| Primary Source | Secondary Source |
| DEFINITION: A document that fully describes original research written by those that conducted that original research. | DEFINITION: A document that contains commentary, interpretation, and/or analysis of original research. |
| EX: Academic journal article where researchers describe their own research and experimentation regarding enzymes in bovine liver. European Journal of Biochemistry | EX: Popular magazine blog post that comments on multiple studies regarding the impact of sleep on regulating emotions. Psychology Today |
Avoid Natural Language
- Stick to keywords and phrases - don't write out questions in full.
Use Quotation Marks Around Phrases
- This ensures your search results will include the phrase, not the individual words found separately in the document.
Use the Advanced Search
- It will be located in different places depending on the database, but it will help refine and improve your search.
Use Limiters Provided by the Database to Narrow/Focus Your Results
- Limiters are usually found on the left or right hand side of your search results.
- Limit by source type, date of publication, reading level, subject, publication, and more
Use Boolean Operators
