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Searching the Databases

Starting your search

Each database will have a separate search box allowing you to search content.

Generally most databases will have a basic search box and a more advanced search box.

The image below illustrates what a simple search box looks like. 

 

 

 

You can use this simple search box by entering details on the  author, title, keyword or subject .

Below is a brief explanation of the search terms you can use in almost all databases to retrieve relevant information quickly.

Author:  The person(s) or organization(s) that wrote or compiled the document. 

Title: The name of a book, article, or other information source.

Keywords: A common used word or term in the title, abstract, or text of an information source  that indicates the subject matter.

Subject words: These are controlled vocabularies used by databases to describe a concept. 

Top tips to begin your search

  • When you are searching the databases do not use long phrases. These will confuse the databases and may effect the accuracy of your search.  Instead pick out the main words that describe your topic and use those. 
  • If you want to search for articles on a number of databases together use the Discovery search box here