You have entered keywords into the database homepage, and a results list has been generated!
So...now what?
Narrow or broaden your search!
Narrowing Using Keywords:
- What are other possible terms used to describe your topic?
- What are synonyms for the keywords you are already using?
- If you have an article already chosen, does it provide keywords you could use?
Narrow using the Database: (found on the left side of the results list screen)
- Full text- Articles that are the WHOLE article, not just an abstract (summary) or just the article details
- Peer-Reviewed- Articles that have been reviewed by someone in the field that agrees the information presented is academically sound
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Source type – Who published the article? Is it a journal, magazine, report, or conference paper? Some professors will specify types of resources needed so use those when provided.
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Publication date – When was it written? Using more current resources (5-10 years old) are more academically sound unless you are writing a historical perspective paper
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Subject – Narrow using additional subjects that commonly go together
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Document type – What is it? A journal article, feature, review, obituary, dissertation/thesis, news, book, statistical dataset, case study, etc.
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Language – What language was it written in? English, Spanish, German, or one of 40+ other languages
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Publication title – Who published it? New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Sun, The Times of India, Dow Jones Institutional News, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, etc.
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Location – Where was it written, or what area is it about? The US, China, India, Germany, or other countries, states, territories…
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Database – Which database is it in? ProQuest One Academic searches multiple databases but you can narrow to a specific database, or search in another database
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Person – Is there a famous person associated with the article? Author, subject, contributor
- Company/organization – Is there a company/organization associated with the article
Narrow using Article Titles:
- Does the title sound like it will fit your research topic?
- Does the title have other words that are similar to what you are researching?
