Irish Studies Resources - Prof. Christine Kinealy: Searching Hints

Here are some suggestions for searching the online catalog through the Books/DVDs link.  They may also be applied to searching the databases for articles.

• Name of individual:  "Charlotte Perkins Gilman"
  
  
• Name of individual and title of work:  "Kate Chopin" and Awakening
  
  
• Name of individual and title of work and the word criticsm:  "Kate Chopin" and Awakening and criticism
  
  
• Name of individual and the word criticism:  "Susan Glaspell" and criticism
  
  
• Name of indivisual and title of work and topic:  "Charlotte Perkins Gilman" and "Yellow Wall Paper" and feminism

• Searching by primary-source format words:  There are words in catalog records that identify the type of primary source.  These are often part of the subject heading, or subject words, in the record.  These may include:  advertisements, autobiographies, collected works, correspondence, description and travel, diaries, documents, interviews, journal, letters, manuscripts, pamplets, personal narratives, sources, and speeches.  You can combine a primary-source format word with words describing your topic such as event or person (e.g., letters and lincoln; diaries and civil war).  For a specific search, type in the primary-source format word in the Subject box in Advanced Search of the Library Catalog. 
• Searching by author:  To find diaries, letters, autobiographies, personal papers, etc., search a person's name as an author (not as a subject, because that will find materials about them instead of works the person wrote).
• Searching for manuscripts:  One way to find manuscripts in the library is to choose Manuscript/Theses as Type under Limits in Advanced Search of the Library Catalog and then adding your topic (e.g., civil war).  Another way is to search manuscripts in Subject box in Advanced Search of the Library Catalog.  The second search will bring up items that are manuscripts but may not be in a manuscript format (i.e., manuscripts on microfilm).
• Identifying primary sources:  Look for the publication date or, if you have a reprinted book, look for the original publication date.  If the original publication date is during the time you are studying, you have a primary source.  Primary sources may be compiled, edited, and printed some time after an event or historical period.  Also look at the birth/death dates of the author.  If the birth/death dates of the author are such that the person lived during the time of your event or historical period, you might have a primary source.  Look at the notes in the record; there may be clues as to whether or not it is a primary source.  The words facsimile or reprint might indicate primary source.

Try some of these suggestions to identify better search results. 

• Start with keywords
• Remember the singular and plural of a word may yield different search results, therefore use the * (asterisk symbol) after the root of the word and it will find all words with that root.  For example, crim* will find crime, crimes, criminal, criminals, criminology, etc., but note that it will also find Crimea if in the database.
• Use these connectors when appropriate:  and, or
• Use quotes around phrases
• Check for database options to limit results, such as language, peer-reviewed, article, etc.
• Use Ctrl F to search a word or phrase in an article OR use the PDF option    which is part of the printing, save bar.  Click it and then the binoculars on the left    and enter term(s).
• Recognize and incorporate database subject headings
• Read abstract of article for a summary
• Click on author's name(s) for their other articles
• Use the references or works cited or bibliography to identify additional articles