Records in library databases are made up of different fields that contain specific pieces of information about each resource. By focusing your search on certain fields, you can get more relevant results. Common fields include:
Searching within the abstract field (AB) can be especially helpful. Since abstracts summarize the main points of an article, they often contain important keywords. If you find a keyword in an abstract, the article is more likely to be relevant. Abstracts are also a good place to find extra keywords that you can use to improve your search strategies.
Some databases will have additional fields relevant to the content or discipline area of the database.
Journal databases use a controlled vocabulary when organising article records, which helps group information by topic. By controlling the vocabulary, the database makes sure that synonyms and similar phrases are all listed under one main term.
You can use the database’s vocabulary in your search. When you're in a database, you'll usually find a link near the search boxes called Thesaurus, Subjects, or Subject Headings.
A proximity search forces a database to find results where one search term appears within a certain number of words of another search term. The proximity operator varies according to the database.
Examples from an EBSCOhost database:
N=near
W=within
| If you search for | You will get results for |
|---|---|
| stress N3 gaming | Results where stress is within 3 words of gaming in any order |
| stress W3 gaming | Results where stress is within 3 words of gaming in the same order |
Once you have found a good article, you can use its citations or reference list to find additional resources.
Remember you will still need to evaluate any resource you find using these methods.
Check the reference lists of articles you have already found to find related readings. This will lead you to resources that are older, so keep this in mind if your lecturer would like you to use recent material.
Check who has cited the article you've already found. This will lead you to material that is newer.
Some, but not all, databases have a feature where you can see who has cited the resource at which you're looking.
The database is unlikely to show you every citing article. This is because no database will contain every resource written on a topic. A database can only compare its own records.
You can also use our citation databases to undertake footnote chasing and citation searching.
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