ENGL 105 (Prof. Lau) Fall 2021

When searching CSM Library databases (see the link above) consider the following:

• use "advanced search"
• limit your search to scholarly or peer-reviewed articles (in addition to full-text and time frame..)
• check the references - and consider following them (i.e. searching for the articles listed in the references)
• check the journal title - and consider searching/browsing this particular journal
• read the summaries, abstracts and subjects to expand vocabulary
• if the terms you thought of do not bring any results , check Thesaurus or Subject Terms or "Look up subjects"
• try different databases on the same subject - and the "multi-disciplinary" ones as well
• quickly scan the article you see for the terms you used to search. The terms might be highlighted; if not, use CTRL+F (Command+F on Mac)
• watch the "Generating search terms" video (see the link below) 

Why not just use Google????

• library databases contain full text of articles ↓
  • you must make sure you selected "full text" from the search interface
• you can narrow your search to particular dates, to scholarly (or peer-review) articles, to articles on particular subject, etc. ↓
  • select the limits on the "Advanced Search" page or in the search results page - it only takes a couple of minutes to look through the interface 
• articles come with ready citations..though it is up to you to make sure the citations are correct ↓
  • look for the "cite" or "email" links or icons on the page.