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MCEN 4228/5228: Design for Inclusion (Tsai): Search Tools, Strategies, and Tips

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Engineering, Science and Design Librarian

Search Tools and Strategies

OneSearch is the CU Boulder Libraries Discovery Search tool, searching most of the Libraries content at once. This means it is good for finding:

  • Magazine Articles
  • Newspaper Articles
  • Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
  • Trade Magazine Articles
  • Books and E-Books
  • Reference

SciTech Premium Collection is a science and technology databases providing access to:

  • Magazine Articles
  • Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
  • Trade Magazine Articles

This database has a filter to allow you to limit your search to results that include advertisements:SciTech document type filter with "advertisement" selected

Web of Science is an interdisciplinary database of scholarly literature, including Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles and conference proceedings articles.

ProQuest News and Newspapers provides access to current and historical newspaper articles from major U.S. news outlets

This database has a filter to allow you to limit your search to results that include advertisements:

ProQuest News and Newspaper document type filter with "advertisement" selected

 

Knovel is a platform of scientific and technical ebooks and reference sources from professional societies and various publishers.

Patents are freely accessible documents. However, searching can be complex, because patents use stylized language, and because they are often filed in particular countries. The guide to patent research below recommends several tools to help you find them more efficiently. It also recommends several patent searching tutorials.  Search by patent number, keyword, inventor, or company.

 

Search Tips

Research is Iterative

You won't get it done all at once.

Sometimes you need to do some research to figure out what to research.

Use multiple keywords, search tools, and search strategies

Use Google AND the Library

OneSearch and other databases are search tools and collections of information paid for by University Libraries. These search tools will find information that is not available on Google. They also have search features, filters, and sorting more advanced than what is provided by Google.

Brainstorm Lots of Keywords

You may need to brainstorm lots of terms and phrases related to your research. Include multiple aspects of your research question, synonyms and broader concepts.

  • I.E. Line 3 Pipeline
    • oil pipelines
    • pipeline environment* impact, "oil spill" environment* impact, climate change
    • pipeline health impact, "oil spill" health impact
      • human health, wildlife health
    • drug trafficking
    • sex trafficking, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)
    • Indigenous sovereignty, Indigenous treaty rights
      • Ojibwe rights
    • Indigenous activism, "water protectors," "Stop Line 3", "water is life," #noDAPL
    • job creation
    • tax revenue
    • energy production

Quotes and asterisks

Quotes will search a phrase instead of separate keywords.

  • I.E. "environmental justice"

Asterisk is a wildcard, and it will search variations in word endings

  • I.E. environment* searches 
    • environment
    • environments
    • environmental
    • environmentally
    • environmentalist
    • environmentalists
    • environmentalism

Word Meanings

Consider multiple words that mean the same thing or a similar concept

  • I.E. car, automobile, motor vehicle

Consider words that mean multiple things 

  • I.E. data logging / forest logging
  • I.E. drug trafficking / sex trafficking

Consider spelling out acronyms, or searching for the phrase and the acronym

  • AI OR "artificial intelligence"

AND OR NOT

AND indicates that both terms or phrases have to be in your search results

  • pipeline AND "climate change"

OR indicates the either of your search terms could be in the results, and is good for synonyms or related terms

  • pipeline AND ("sex trafficking" OR "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women" OR MMIW)

NOT eliminates results with a certain term

  • pipeline AND ("sex trafficking" OR "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women" OR MMIW) NOT drug

Try Other Kinds of Searching

Keyword searching isn't your only option:

  • Follow citations between sources - look at references and cited by
  • Find other sources by an author
  • Browse a specific publication or broad set of results