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Database Search Tips: Overview

Google might be intuitive, but databases require more perseverance. These tips can help you find the needle in the haystack.

Overview

The key to being a savvy online searcher is to use common search techniques that you can apply to almost any database, including article databases, online catalogs and even commercial search engines.

This is important because searching library databases is a bit different from searching Google.

The techniques described in this section will enable you to quickly retrieve relevant information from the thousands of records in a database.

When you search a database and do not get the results you expect, ask us for advice. The librarian is happy to help you find what you need.

Smart Searching

And then there's Google

To brush up on your advanced search techniques in Google, check out their Refine web searches page and their Advanced Search page.

Test Your Understanding

Formative Quiz
After reviewing all the tabs of this guide, put your knowledge into practice by answering a few questions. If you answer incorrectly, come back and try this practice set as many times as you’d like. Good luck!

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Credit

Content created by JSTOR and MIT Libraries, available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License.