Gender Studies: Search Strategies

Keyword Searching 

Basic keyword searches are your starting point for exploring gender studies topics.

• Single Words: Begin with core concepts, such as gender, transgender, non-binary, women, men, sexuality, feminism, intersectionality.
• Related Terms: For the keyword "gender," consider related terms like sex, sexual identity, or gender identity."
• Exact Phrases: Put quotes around multi-word terms (e.g. "gender roles," "toxic masculinity," "gender performativity," or "queer theory")
• Truncation symbols: Use * or $ (depending on the database) to capture variations. For example, feminist* would find "feminist," "feminists," and "feminism." trans* could find "transgender" or "transfeminist."

How to Find Specific Kinds of Articles in Gender Studies:

• Literature reviews: Search terms like "gender studies literature review," "feminist theory overview," "systematic review of gender identity," or "overview of masculinity studies" to find comprehensive summaries of existing research.
• Empirical articles: To find studies based on original research, look for like "qualitative research on women's experiences," or "quantitative analysis of gender pay gap." Words like "methods," "methodology (qualitative OR quantitative)," "participants," "interviews," "focus groups," "survey data," and "results" or "findings" are strong indicators. 
• Primary research: Literature reviews often cite foundational or recent primary research. Follow those citations to locate original studies. For support with primary research, please contact our resident expert, Rachel Ernst, in Special Collections to make a one-on-one meeting.