| Why | for finding specific information on your topic |
| Where | articles can be found in article databases and in print (in the form of journals, magazines, trade publications, newspapers). Try looking in second floor periodicals section and the article and journal tabs on our website. |
| How |
begin by narrowing your search using boolean operators, key terms, and concept mapping |
*For searching Academic Search Premier and Art Index & Art Retrospective.*
Keyword Searching: To successfully search for information on your topic, it is best to determine the main concepts and then find keywords for those concepts. The keywords can become your search words. In general, you should search library databases with 2-3 keywords, rather than your whole topic question or a sentence. To get the most relevant results try boolean searching.
Example Search Phrase: "construction" AND (apparel OR clothing)
Searches can also be narrowed by adding a time period, location, and/or additional keywords.
Limiting Search Results: Once the initial keyword search returns a list of articles, use the search limiters on the left margin to narrow your search results by: subject heading (thesaurus term), or type of publication (try "Trade Journal").
Subject Heading Searching: Once you've found a useful article, remember to examine the subject headings (found by clicking on the article title) to link you to other useful articles, or to construct a new search phrase.
Example Search Phrase: DE "FASHION design" and (apparel or clothing)
Example Subject Headings:
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