Searching
Use the words and phrases that came out of your brainstorming activity in different combinations to search for resources.
Keywords
Remember that you need to use keywords when searching in library resources. Think about keywords that might be used to describe your topic and brainstorm synonyms for those words to include in your searching as well. Use "" when you want to search multiple terms as a phrase. Keep in mind that the name of your language may be spelled in different ways.
Don't forget to use words like AND, OR, and NOT (boolean operators) between your keywords to broaden or narrow your search.
Examples:
If you have already chosen a virtual world/culture:
name of your world/culture AND an aspect of that culture you want to explore ("Second Life" AND identity)
If you have not yet chosen a virtual world/culture:
"group identity" OR "cultural identity" AND "virtual world"
Subject Terms
Use Subject Terms (assigned by the Library of Congress) to find like items in the library catalog and in journal databases. If you find a useful book or article, its catalog record usually will include Subject Terms under "Description" that you can use to find related research material. Below is a screenshot of a catalog record with subject hyperlinks. In the actual record, you will be able to click on the links to find related material.
Limiters
Many databases provide ways for you to limit your search results. If your initial search returns too many results try limiting these results using these features such as limiting by date, type of publication, subject, etc.
Limit to Franklin & Marshall College
Limit to last ten years of publication
Limit to the subject area of anthropology
Limit to articles