Includes all 2,800+ academic journals on JSTOR that span more than 60 disciplines across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, along with millions of primary sources across four collections.
Subjects: applied behavior analysis, biology, biotechnology, chemistry, english, environmental science, mathematics, sustainability, theater
Content: journals, primary sources, books
Dates of publication: 1665 - present
Academic Search Complete is a scholarly, multi-disciplinary database providing information on a wide range of subjects. It contains full-text access to peer-reviewed journals, magazines, monographs, reports, and conference proceedings as well as indexing and abstracts for thousands of publications.
Subjects: multidisciplinary
Content: journals, magazines, newspapers, book reviews, government documents, education reports
Publication dates: 1887 - present
CQ Researcher provides comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news. Each single-themed report is researched, footnoted and fact checked, and contains an introductory overview; a background and chronology on the topic; an assessment of the current situation; tables and maps; a pro/con debate by representatives of opposing positions; and bibliographies of key sources.
Subjects: criminal justice, gender studies, latino studies, political science, psychology, social work, sociology
Content: journals, magazines, books, conference proceedings
Publication dates: 1908 – present
Identify keywords for your topic and brainstorm narrower, broader, and related terms.
Example: Factors that affect academic performance in first-generation college students.
Academic Performance | College | First-Generation Students |
Student Success | Higher Education | Children of Immigrants |
Student Achievement | University | Minority Students |
Learning Outcomes | Community College | Nontraditional Students |
Boolean Operators AND, OR, and NOT allow you to broaden or narrow your results in the library catalog and databases. You can easily use these to clarify what you need by choosing the advanced search option.
Add more keywords.
Adding additional keywords to your search can help to further narrow your topic.
Example: college AND first-generation students AND academic performance
Use a filter
Look on the left side for ways you can filter your materials. Here are a few to consider, depending on your needs.
Try different search terms.
What other words could you use to describe this concept? Brainstorm related terms, synonyms, and slightly different forms of your word or phrase. Also brainstorm broader categories or concepts it belongs to, as well as narrower elements or examples. (See the keywords section above for examples.)
It may also be useful to consider the official, academic, or formal way to write that term. This is more likely to be used in academic writing.
Use fewer search terms.
Sometimes less is more! The more words, phrases, or subjects you ask the database to find, the fewer sources will meet the criteria.
Use OR.
Broaden your search by using the boolean operator OR to link your terms.
Example: (college OR higher education OR university) AND first-generation students AND (academic performance OR student success)