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SPAN 344: Hispanic Cultures Through Literatures IV

A course guide for Spanish 344 at the University of Oregon

Step 3 - Finding Information

Green magnifying glass icon with checkmark inside from Noun ProjectFinding information requires a lot of skills that you may not be aware that you have or that you are developing. Use this page to learn strategies for HOW to find the most relevant information to meet your needs.

Use the sub-pages to learn WHERE to search for research on your topic or course theme.

Library Databases vs. Search Engines (Video Tutorial)

Watch this video from WHMS Library to understand the difference between library databases and search engines.

Boolean Searching (Infographic)

Thanks to IUPUI University Library for allowing reuse of this graphic under a Creative Commons license.

Strategies for Narrowing your Search to get Better Results

Below are 4 top strategies to narrow your search:

  1. Use AND between keywords to find articles where two or more keywords appear together

Aspirin AND Children AND Reye's Syndrome = Venn Diagram showing overlap between all three terms indicating search results will include all three.

 

  1. Use the filters / limiters in the search interface to narrow your search results to a specific date range or resource type (format: book, journal article, news article, etc.)

LibrarySearch showing Aspirin AND Children AND "Reye's Syndrome" with filters for Resource type: Articles; Date: 2012-2022 and; Subject: Aspirin

  1. Add a Subject Term (found in a database's Index or Thesaurus) to your search to find results that are "tagged" with that term to indicate they are "about" that topic/idea. Tip: Use just 1 or 2 Subject Terms per search so you don't get too narrow too quickly and end up with too few results.

Screenshot of Academic Search Premier Database showing the location of the thesaurus or "Subject Terms" search interface 

After adding a Subject Term to your search, click "Search" and then combine with additional keywords using AND. Note where the Subject Term shows up in your results:

Screenshot of Search using the Subject term "Reye's syndrome" and where it appears in the results

  1. Choose a database that is limited to your major, subject, or discipline. Use the link below to find a research guide with database recommendations for your discipline!

Want materials (e.g., books, articles) that the library doesn't have? Use Interlibrary Loan!

Submit an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request if you need something that isn't available in the UO Libraries collection and we will try to get it for you.

Step 3: Pause to Reflect

Pause to Reflect

Did you find the information you needed? Will it help you answer your research question? If not, it might be time to reach out to a Subject Librarian for an appointment.

As researchers, we should approach the evidence we find with an open mind. Research should broaden or inform our perspectives, and not confirm our own biases. If your research is just a collection of cherry-picked quotes, you may need to go back to the library catalog (LibrarySearch) or the article databases to gather more information and other perspectives to consider. 

Cherrypicking

"kirschenpflücken 2006-06by Brigitte Rieser is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0