ECY 600: Introduction to Exceptional Learner

Almost all databases use the same functions.  Once you know what to look for and how it works, you can take that skill set anywhere.

"Keyword" is just a term used to encompass all sorts of words and ideas that you use to search for resources.  They include terms from the

• Title
• Author's name
• Publishing dates
• Previous search results
• Reference Lists and Notes

Research isn't just about finding sources but finding the right sources. The keywords you use in your search can affect whether or not you find those right sources.

Keyword Help: Start with an EBSCO database, such as Academic Search Premier, SPORTDiscus, or ERIC. Unlike other databases that require manual input of keyword synonyms, EBSCO databases helpfully provide them for you and separate them with the Boolean operator OR (see below). Make note of these keywords for use in other databases.

To begin refining your search in order to find those right sources, add lines in an advanced search in order to search for more than one set of keywords simultaneously (see below).

The most basic function you will find in a database is Boolean Searching.  Boolean Searching uses AND, OR, & NOT to tell the machine how your keywords should function.

Imagine searching for a pet in a database of an animal shelter.  You might do something like this:

dog AND cat = for kids who want a miracle         

dog OR cat  = for those who aren't sure which pet or have no preference        

dog NOT cat = for those allergic to cats

Use the dropdown boxes beside keywords to further refine your search. One way to do so is to change where in the article you want the keyword to appear, such as author, title, journal name, abstract, or subject.

Refine your keywords further with these advanced techniques:

• Truncation searches for all forms of a word, frequently using the asterisk*.
  • Ex. Educat* will return results with all words having the root “eduat,” such as education, educational, educators.
• Quotation marks search for phrases.
  • Ex. “Special education” will force two words together, instead of having special in the title and education on p. 47.
• Proximity searching puts words within a certain number of words of each other.
  • Ex. Home N10 Family in a search bar puts the words within 10 words of each other, in either direction.
• Wildcards, usually using the question mark symbol ?, replace a single letter.
  • Ex. M?n = man, men

Access to articles in your search results may vary. You may have access to some articles directly in the database. To access other articles, you may need to return to our UAB Libraries catalog. Don't forget that if we do not have direct access to an article that you can request it through Interlibrary Loan.

As you do research, keep track of your sources, and organize them into groups.  You might group them based on

• source information you will need to write your references
• claims and/or main findings
• methods (if important)
• assumptions authors have made (which you might agree with or find infuriating)
• page numbers and content of phrases or statistics you might want to quote/cite

Note: All of these details could inform future searching and save you from having to comb through an article trying to find a lost piece of information! 

EndNote 20 - the most recent version that has been licensed by UAB.  You can get started by checking out this research guide on EndNote (desktop version). Find information about EndNote Online (formerly EndNote Web) on this research guide.

"Research" accounts - almost every database gives you the option of creating an account. For more information click here.

Zotero - a free tool that many researchers swear by.   Reportedly, the plug-in for the browser works really well. You can get started by checking out this research guide on Zotero.

Notebook - research shows we remember more when we write it down.  (Thank goodness because my handwriting is atrocious.)