Every tool in the library has it's own strengths and weaknesses, as well as a distinct interface for searching. Nonetheless, there are some general techniques that are always appropriate!
Limits and Filters
When your search returns 100,000 results, an easy way to pare down that number is to use the built-in filters that you'll find in almost every search interface. Some limits to consider using include:
Date: Do you need research from 1950, or would information from only the last 10 years be more on target? Newer isn't always more appropriate, but it can be a way of getting a sense of the most recent scholarship!
Language: There might be a ton of literature about your topic in German, but if you can't read it you might want to filter out those results in the early stages of your research.
Specific journals, authors, affiliations, or resources: If you know that there are lots of articles of the type you want in Lancet, try a search that only looks at that Journal just to see what sort of results you get. Or perhaps you want information from the University of Utah, or only by Dr. Frankenstein -- Look for ways to start small with your search because you can always expand it again later.
Subject: Doe the tool provide subjects, headings, or categories to guide you? You might be studying art and literature surround AIDS, for example, so you'll save yourself a lot of work if you can deselect the hard-core medical subject types.
Type: Are you looking for peer-reviewed articles? Books? Media? Usually, we start with articles, but you might be looking for something else...
The library catalog is the primary way of searching all of the materials that you can access through the library. The catalog allows you to find and access books, journals, and digital content. It also has the ability recommend materials, as well as to save items in a personal e-Shelf or export them to EndNote.
Marriott Library has access to hundreds of databases which serve as gateways to millions of articles and other learning objects. Not only does each database cover a specific area or set of areas, it may have a unique interface and character.
Research guides, also subject guides and course guides, are carefully curated tools designed to make the vast array of library resources more manageable for students. Each guide is developed by a librarian and focuses on a specific discipline, topic, or course.
Boo-who? Boolean Operators
It seems obvious, but we all forget to effectively make use of boolean operators in our searches. Boolean operators are syntax that we can include in our searches to control how our search terms relate to each other. Using operators properly enable us to expand and contract the scope of our results as we navigate the search process. Pro tip: Using operators with searches in your Search History is a great way to build complex and rewarding result set based on work you've already done!
AND - This operator makes your results set smaller. "Mountain Dew" AND "Captain Crunch" will result in fewer (though tastier?) results than either term by itself.
OR - This operator will make your results set larger. "Mountain Dew" OR "Captain Crunch" gives you everything for both terms.
NOT - This operator limits results form within another set. "Brain surgery" NOT "Dr. Frankenstein" helps you limit out the somewhat dubious publication set from one specific scientist.
