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| Home | Starting Your Research | |
Search Basics
Deciding What you Need
Where you should look for information will depend on the type of information you need. Keep in mind the following:
To Find Use background or basic factual information Reference books
- provide a broad overview of a person, topic, or event.
- are good sources for factual details, key dates, or a timeline of events.
- will give you basic information to help you decide on a topic or narrow a topic that is too broad.
in-depth or detailed information Books
- focus on a narrower aspect of a topic or event.
- provide more detail than journal articles or Web pages.
- may provide different or alternative viewpoints.
- can provide an in-depth analysis and interpretation of key events or issues.
current information or research Journal articles
- are more current than books.
- are good sources for scholarly interpretations of events or issues.
- may be written by leading researchers or experts in the field (published in scholarly, peer-reviewed, or refereed journals).
Where to Look
Use the following resources to find books and articles:
To Find Use
Books Search URSUS (the University of Maine System online catalog), MaineCat, or other library catalogs (Worldcat, Library of Congress, etc.). Always start with the URSUS catalog first. Articles Search one of the electronic resources available through the Mantor Library's Indexes and Databases Web page or one of the print indexes located in the Reference area on the first floor of the library. If you have questions about the online catalog or the databases or if you would like assistance with your research, please contact a librarian.
Keyword vs. Subject Searching
Each item in URSUS and many other academic library catalogs are assigned subject headings. The subject headings in URSUS have been developed by the Library of Congress. They can be very specific and not always intuitive, so searching by subject can be difficult if you don't know the exact subject heading. For example, the Library of Congress subject heading for the Great Depression is Depressions—1929 and the subject heading for the United States Civil War is United States History--Civil War--1860-1865.
Keyword searching allows for more flexibility. You can choose your own keywords. You can also choose possible related terms or synonyms to include in your search. Search terms can be joined with AND or OR using the following search techniques:
Search Tip
Translation
Examples
Use AND to join your search terms
AND = you want all of the words
Maine and fishing and history
Use OR to join alternate terms or synonyms
OR = you want any of the words
work or labor or employment
teen or teenager or adolescent or juvenile
Use truncation for variant endings (symbol is usually *)
* = tells the database to find a variety of words that start with the same root word. Truncation allows you to find variant endings of a word without having to type them all in your search statement.
educat* = educate, education, educating, educated, educator,…
work* = work, worker, workers, worked, working,…
Use parentheses to join alternate terms with other keywords
(xxxx or xxxx) = tells the database which words are alternates or synonyms.
(teen* or adolescen*) and crime and drug abuse
It is important to remember databases and online catalogs like URSUS do not work like search engines (Yahoo, Google, AskJeeves). You can’t just type in a question, a sentence, random words, or a string of words separated by commas or + signs to find something. You have to join keywords using the language the database understands. Use the tips above to format a search to find books in URSUS and articles in the online databases.
Other Things to Keep in Mind
Flexibility is the key to searching success. If you do not find what you are looking for on the first try:
be willing to revise your search statement.
try different search terms or different combinations of terms.
search in more than one place.
use different databases or a combination of online catalogs and databases to find a good mix of information sources for your assignments.
Timing is everything. It is best to plan ahead when doing research. A search for information for any research project should be as comprehensive as possible in order to find the most relevant materials on the chosen topic. You should not limit yourself to information that can be retrieved most easily or quickly. Start looking for information at least three weeks before the project is due so you can determine how much information is available and where it is. Doing your research in advance will give you ample time to request information from other libraries if necessary. Keep in mind the turn around time for URSUS requests (3 - 5 business days), MaineCat requests (5 - 7 business days), or Interlibrary Loan requests (3 days - 3 weeks).
If you need help getting started or finding information, ask a librarian for assistance.
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University of Maine at Farmington
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Last Updated
03/31/2008 01:22 PM