Search Tips
Good searching can shorten your research time significantly. Here are some tips from the pros:
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Use quotation marks around a phrase to inform the search engine to look for exactly the phrase you enter- for example "body image" or "work-life balance" or "beauty standards" or "forced sterilization"
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When searching for a keyword with multiple variations (ex. "education", "educators") use the root form of the word and add an asterisk (*). This means using child* will retrieve items that have all variations-- "children", "child", "childhood", etc.
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Start simple! Begin with 1-2 targeted key words and then make adjustments (more terms, less terms, different terms) depending on your search results. Pay attention to keywords, phrases that are used in highly relevant resources.
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Use the built-in database filters to focus your results- most interfaces let you limit by publication date, subject, format and more
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Finally, ZSR Librarians are here to help you find the best sources for your research assignment!
ZSR Books & eBooks
General Databases
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Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new windowProvides access to journals covering the social sciences, humanities, education, and more. Good general-purpose database for researching most topics. Coverage: 1985-
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ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new windowContains articles from magazines, newspapers, and journals. Areas included: business, health, education, psychology, science, sports, and literature. Coverage: 1986-
Subject Databases (Secondary Sources)
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America: History and Life This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles about the history and culure of the United States and Canada. Publications include peer-reviewed journals, magazines, dissertations, books, and more. Access is limited to six simultaneous users. Note: For world history topics, use the Historical Abstracts database. Coverage: 1964-
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Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowProvides access to periodicals, journals, and edited works, with an emphasis on archaeology, anthropology, and linguistics. Coverage: Late 19th century-present
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APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new windowProvides abstracts to journal articles, book chapters, books and dissertations in psychology and related disciplines (sociology, linguistics, anthropology, education, medicine, law, physiology, business, psychiatry, nursing, pharmacology). Links to full text in PsycARTICLES and to other resources in ZSR. Coverage: 1806-
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Communication and Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new windowContains scholarly literature on all aspects of communication studies, including discourse, linguistics, media studies, and rhetoric. Coverage: 1915-
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Contemporary Women's Issues (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowprovides access to current full text and backfile content covering topics including civil rights, health, education, professional development, and entrepreneurship. Coverage: 1992-
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Gale OneFile: Pop Culture Studies This link opens in a new windowBrings journal, reference, book, news, and web content about popular culture from Gale together in one search interface.
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Health Source: Consumer Edition This link opens in a new windowConsumer health database inlcuding indexes and abstracts of general health, nutrition and, professional health care publications. Includes the USP Pharmacopoeia DI: Volume II Advice for the Lay Patient, health research books, essays from Clinical Reference Systems, and health-related pamphlets. Coverage: varies
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ProQuest Social Science Database This link opens in a new windowContains hundreds of academic journals, providing extensive coverage across a wide range of social science disciplines including anthropology, criminology, economics, education, political science, psychology, social work and sociology. Coverage: 1987-
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SPORTDiscus This link opens in a new windowCitations and some abstracts from periodicals, books, conference proceedings, dissertations and theses, research papers, etc. covering the areas of sports, physical fitness, sport science and recreation. Access is limited to four simultaneous users. Coverage: 1830-
Instruction & Outreach Librarian
Current News Sources
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America's News This link opens in a new windowFeatures national, regional and local news from across the United States from the 1980s to the present. Includes the Winston-Salem Journal. A great resource for getting news from regional and local news sources. Coverage: 1980s-
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ProQuest Current News This link opens in a new windowCurrent US and international news. This simultaneously searches ProQuest databases US Newsstream, International Newsstream, Global Breaking Newswires, Canadian Newsstream, Ethnic Newswatch, and Recent Newspapers.
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Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new windowFull text for many major U.S. and international newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, the London Times, and others. Also includes some television and radio news transcripts. Coverage: 1985-
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Ebsco Current News This link opens in a new windowCross searches current national and international news sources, wire services, and regional news sources.
