Database Search Tips

Use the databases on the SFCC Library: PNW History Guide. Both databases have a collection of magazines, newspapers, and scholarly articles.

To learn about library databases and how to search for articles, watch this video tutorial:

Remember as you create your search terms, only use keywords, which are the significant words or concepts that express an idea or topic.

See the examples below:

drones AND privacy

surveillance AND ethics AND workplace

surveillance AND "information technology"

"social media" AND surveillance AND (workplace OR employees)

"peer pressure" AND workplace AND ethic*

"young adults" AND "social networking" AND identity

_____________________________________

NOTES ABOUT SEARCH TECHNIQUES:

WHAT DOES THE ASTERISK DO? You can use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard. For example, typing statistic* will retrieve articles containing any word starting with the spelling s-t-a-t-i-s-t-i-c (like statistic, statistics, statistical, etc.).

WHAT DO THE QUOTATION MARKS DO? Use quotation marks ( " " ) to enclose a phrase of 2 words or more; this will force ProQuest to search for articles with that exact phrase in the article. Examples: "homeless children" "genetically modified food"

NOTES ABOUT NARROWING YOUR SEARCHES:

When you search in an article index database, notice the many facets on the left side of your results screen that let you further limit your results by:

Date
Source type
Location
Full text To find only article you can real in full, tick the box title full text.
Peer reviewed (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. articles Tick the box for Peer reviewed to narrow your search to only articles from scholarly journals which have been reviewed by a panel of worldwide subject experts before being approved for publication.
Other limitations Try the ADVANCED SEARCH to use several limiters simultaneously, or ask a librarian for help.