FYSM 1217B | MacOdrum Library

This guide is intended to assist students in finding and identifying scholarly sources on their topic.

Getting Started with Library Research

Search Strategies

Develop a search statement to search databases (including news databases) and other academic sources
A search statement includes a list of keywords, combined using Boolean Operators (AND; OR; NOT)
- AND - this will combine concepts, all of which must be found in your list of results
  - gender AND telephone
- OR - either this concept or that concept (or both). This is helpful for generating a list of synonyms. Use synonyms to anticipate the different ways different authors may refer to the same idea. A thesaurus can be helpful for this
  - internet OR web OR online
- NOT - do not include this concept
  - advertising NOT magazine
- Quote marks - find a specific phrase
  - "library space"
- Truncation - any other combination of letters to follow
  - canad* - will find canada, canadian, canadian's, etc.
    - Combine one or more of these operators
- Put a list of synonyms in brackets
For example, my topic is to investigate whether or not smartphones have a negative impact on society. My search statement might look something like this:
- (smartphone OR "mobile phone" OR "cell phone") AND (societ* OR cultur*)

Omni Advanced Search - the search box on the library's homepage: searches most databases and other resources simultaneously
Communication and Mass Media Complete - primary database for communication literature
Subject Guide for Communication - Welcome tab lists reference material like encyclopaedias and handbooks. Also have a look at the Journal Articles and Databases tabs

Government Information - Canadian or International
Think Tank Search - search limited to think tanks dealing in public policy, including NGOs (non-governmental organizations)
- Tip: these custom searches cannot limit by date of publication, so try including a year in your search (i.e. "social media" 2015)

From your list of results, isolate source type by magazine and/or trade publication

Searching Strategies
- site: - limits your search to a specific site
  - site:carleton.ca
- filetype: - limits your search to a specific file type
  - filetype:pdf
  - filetype:ppt
  - filetype:xls
- OR - ensure it is capitalized
  - tv OR television
- quote marks for phrases
For example:
- site:crtc.gc.ca filetype:pdf smartphone
If you use Google Scholar, access it via our library
- this will connect you to resources we have access to, instead of prompting you to pay