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Prof. Ramsay - Eng. 102 - FALL 2024: Database Searching and Articles

Developing a Search Strategy

Use keywords and synonyms:

Start by taking keywords directly from your thesis statement.

Use synonyms and related concepts by thinking of other words that mean the same thing as the keywords in your question. Examples:

           literature review or literary criticism

          theme or motif

Look at the subject terms in your search results and see if you can use any of those.

Use truncation:

You can broaden your search results by typing an asterisk symbol  *  at the end of the root of a word. When you do this, the computer will search for alternative endings for the word you have typed.

For example

        ​criti*         criticism       critique      critics       critical

        them*       theme(s)       thematic

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