Library FAQs

Try these self-help strategies if you find that your search didn't produce enough results.  Librarians are here to help, too!  Please Ask a Librarian or use our contact information to get in touch. Most of our resources also have slide-out chat options so you can get immediate searching help during business hours. 

Choose a database that is relevant to your topic.  Some databases (like Academic Search Ultimate) are good for general use and cover a wide variety of topics. Others are more specialized for certain topics (like CINAHL or Business Source Complete).  Our databases are listed by general use as well as specific subjects.  Not finding what you're looking for in the first database you try?  Be flexible and be prepared to try several different databases.  Ask a Librarian for help you choose the best database for your topic.

Check for typos and spelling errors. Sometimes it's as simple as that!

Use fewer search terms. Start with a small number of keywords, and then add more terms or try different terms based on your results.

Change the terms you use in your search. Sometimes by using a synonymous word (e.g., climate change vs global warming), or the plural version instead of the singular version, you'll get a very different results list.

Break your topic into concepts. Putting the different concepts into the search boxes often works better than typing a sentence into the search box.  

Remove limiters. Limiters (such as date and article type) give you a more targeted results list, but sometimes limit your results too much. If this happens, use only those limiters that are necessary. 

Think more broadly about your topic. For example, if you're researching the impact of Basque terrorism on a specific town in Spain, you might broaden your search to look at Basque terrorism more generally. Or you might do separate searches for different aspects of your topic. 

Is your topic really current or new? Sometimes topics are too new or cutting edge to have made their way to the journal literature yet. Or there may just not be a lot of information published about your topic. Consider exploring other sources of information, such as news sources or pre-publication alerts.  A librarian can help!

Did you find one or two relevant articles? 

• Look at the complete/full record for the article.  Sometimes the subject terms or descriptors will help you brainstorm relevant search terms you didn't think about at first. 
• Explore the reference list of an article that is on point to find other relevant sources.
• Consider doing a "cited reference" search (if the database you're using has that option) to find other articles that cite the relevant article you already found. 

And don't forget, you can Ask a Librarian for help too!