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Psychology Research Guide

Basic Search Tips

a tower viewer with the word "search" at the topUnlike Google, library databases can't understand an entire sentence. So you'll need to break your topic down into the most important ideas - the KEYWORDS.

Example Topic: What self-control strategies can teens use to reduce social anxiety caused by digital technology?

The specifics of your topic will matter when selecting sources, but for searching you only need the most essential components.

Keywords: self-control, teens, social anxiety, digital technology

Animated GIF shows how to identify keywords

Most words have synonyms that mean the same, or very similar, things. For each keyword in your topic, try to come up with at least one synonym. Not all keywords will have synonyms, but many do!

Example: 

Keyword: digital technology     Synonym: smartphones

 

Keep an Eye Out

Sometimes scholars use terms that you might not be familiar with, or which might mean something very specific within the discipline. While searching, look for unfamiliar terms or words that show up a lot. Try searching for those and see if you find more relevant sources.

Screnshot of OneSearch results list, highlighting the left-hand filtersMost library databases have search tools and filters built in to help you refine your results. Try some of these:

  • Subject: Think of subjects as official hashtags. Use them to find sources about that subject.
  • Date Range: Limit your search to sources published between specific years.
  • Peer Reviewed: Limit your search to scholarly journal articles.
  • Full Text: Make sure all of the results are available to read in full.

Look on the left and right of your search results, or for an "advanced search" page to find these tools and more! (The example pictured to the right is from a OneSearch results list, where the search tools and filters are located on the left-hand side.)

a person standing in front of a wall of charts and graphsYou can evaluate any source using the 5 W's:

  • Who: ...wrote it? Do they have expertise over the subject? What kind?
  • What: ...is the purpose of this resource?
  • Where: ...was this information published? ...does the information come from?
  • When: ...was this published or last updated?
  • Why: ...is this resource useful? ...is this resource better than other ones?

Note: for more in-depth info on evaluating your sources, please take a look at LAVC Library's Information Evaluation guide. 

Advanced Search Tips

Venn Diagram: self-control AND social anxietyUse the operator AND to find only sources that mention both keywords.

self-control AND social anxiety

This search will bring back fewer results than searching either keyword on its own.

Venn Diagram: "digital technology" OR "smartphones"Use the OR operator to expand your search with additional keywords.

digital technology OR smartphones

This will find sources that include either word, so you'll see more results than by searching for just one keyword.

screenshot of advanced search portion of Academic Search CompleteUse the “QUOTES” strategy to search for several words together in a phrase.

"social anxiety"

This will bring back results that only use that exact phrase.

For more help with Advanced Searches, please refer to our Find Articles Guide.

[Note: the example pictured above is from the "advanced search" portion of one of our most popular databases, Academic Search Complete.]

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