Use these search strategies to find the sources you need. Each tip helps you focus, expand, or narrow your results, so you can find relevant information more efficiently.
Brainstorm synonyms & related terms
global warming → climate change
college students → undergraduates → young adults
Break your topic into main ideas
fast food + health effects + teens
Mix & match terms to see different results
These “smart combining” tricks are called Boolean operators—databases and Google use them to understand how your keywords connect.
AND → Narrows your search
social media AND online classroom (results will have both words)
OR → Broadens your search
Facebook OR social media OR Twitter (results will have at least one of these words)
NOT → Excludes terms
(social media OR Facebook OR Twitter) AND online classroom NOT community college (results will exclude one term)
💡 Why it helps: This trick saves you time, cuts out irrelevant results, and helps you zoom in or out on your topic.
Combine keywords, subject terms, and filters in the advanced search to zero in on the most relevant sources.
Click the subject headings (usually in blue) in an article record to discover related research.
Think of them as librarian-approved hashtags—they show how experts categorize your topic and help you find more relevant articles quickly.
Example: Searching “fast food” might show subject terms like “Restaurants – Social Aspects."
Put quotation marks around a phrase to search for the exact words in order.
Example: Searching for "climate change" (with quotes) returns results with that exact phrase, instead of articles that mention those two terms separately.
Look at the sources listed at the end of a good article or book—they can point you to more research.
Journal article: Check for volume, issue, and page numbers.
Book: Look for a city and publisher.
Search the title in the library catalog or journal finder to see if we have access.
👉 Set up Library Links (Settings → Library Links → add Hiram College) to connect to full text.
Use Google Scholar when you already have a citation → paste it in and see if Full Text is @ Hiram.
▶️ Watch this video.
Example (APA 7th):
Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5–13.
Ask a librarian if you’re stuck – we’re happy to help! Email library@hiram.edu
