SPA 417: Tell Me a Story

Keywords

• Remember that you need to use keywords to search library resources, not natural language (like what you would type into Google). 
• Think about various different terms that are or could be used to describe your topic, including synonyms. 
• Use "quotes" around multiple terms that you'd like to use as a phrase. 
• For example:
  • "feminist theory" OR feminism
  • "spanish cinema" AND history

Boolean Operators

• AND, OR, NOT are used between your keywords to broaden or narrow your search. 
• AND will search for both terms.
• OR will search for either one term or the other, but not both. 
• NOT will search for one term but not the other. 
• For example: 
  • "feminist theory" NOT economy 
  • "spanish cinema" AND (history OR historical) 

Wildcards

• Wildcards can be used to replace letters or endings of words in your search phrases, so that you can broaden your results. 
• Not all search engines recognize wildcards, or use the same wildcard symbols, so try out both a ? and a * when in doubt. 
• For example: 
  • "spanish cinema" AND histor*
  • "spanish cinema" AND wom?n

Subject Headings/Terms

• Subject Headings/Terms are controlled phrases assigned to library materials to organize them. 
• Use Subject Headings/Terms to find similar items when searching the library catalog and databases. 
• For example: 
  • SOCIAL SCIENCE Feminism & Feminist Theory
  • Motion pictures Spain History
  • Homosexuality and motion pictures Spain History 21st century
  • Homosexuality and motion pictures

Limiters/Filters

• Many databases provide ways for you to limit your search results. 
• If your initial search is too large, consider limiting by date, type of publication, subject, etc. 

• title of work 
• author name 
• Spain
• "short story"

Find a great article, book, or chapter that you'd like to use for your research, but we don't have a copy at the Library? 

You can request that item via either Interlibrary Loan or EZ Borrow! 

Interlibrary Loan (or, ILL) allows you to request books, book chapters, and article PDFs from other libraries worldwide. Simply fill out the form on the Interlibrary Loan homepage, and you'll receive an email when your request is ready! 

EZ Borrow allows you to request physical items, like books, films, and more, from libraries within a close geographical area. Once on the EZ Borrow site, you must search for the title you're looking for, then hit request when you find it. You'll also receive an email when it's ready to pick up.