HomeGuide to Good Searching
STEP 1: Identify and Define Your Topic
Thoroughly understand what you are looking for and define your topic. Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question.
Ask yourself:
- What type of information is needed? Books? Journal articles? Web resources?
- What amount of information is needed?
- Why is the information needed? Patient care? Research? Grant proposal?
You need to look for alternative terms or keywords that describe each concept to use as search terms.
STEP 2: Select the Appropriate Resource and Know How to Search It Well
Once you have identified the question, the type, and amount of information needed for your purpose, select the appropriate information resource - it may be a database to locate recent journal articles, a catalog to find books, or a Web search engine to identify a practice guideline.
Before you search:
- Understand the structure and content of the resource being used.
- Translate your topic into the subject language of the indexes, databases, and catalogs you use.
- Know how to build successful search strategies using Boolean logic and field searching.
- Limit the search as needed. Consider such limitations as: language, human or animal subjects, age groups, and years.
- Know how to alter a search if your first attempt is unsuccessful. Know how to find more information by broadening your search and how to find less information by limiting your search. (MEDLINE Search Tips (PDF))
- Print search strategy for documentation.
- Know how to interpret your citations and link out to full-text resources.
- Understand the process of copying, saving, downloading, e-mailing and printing your search results.
- Know how to organize information for practical applications through the use of reference management programs. (Reference Manager Quick Guide and EndNote Tipsheets are guides for the two most commonly used programs.)
Select Your Database:
List of All Databases
Other non-subscribed databases such as EMBASE, Chemical Abstracts, and Foundation Directory can be searched by a librarian for a fee. To request a search on a specific database that is not available to the general public, click here to submit a request.
STEP 3: Locate the Article
If you have the exact citation or reference to a journal article - use the Library's catalog Virgo to see if the Library owns the print or online copy. If not, use the ILL service to obtain a copy.
STEP 4: Find Books Using Catalogs
To find the location and call number of all the books owned by the University of Virginia, use the online catalog called Virgo. You can also search for books owned by other US libraries by using WorldCat.
STEP 5: Evaluate the Information You Find
Review: STEPS 1-3 to make sure that your search is comprehensive; the information you find has credibility, usefulness, and quality.
How to document your search (PDF)
STEP 6: Cite What You Found
All writing guides are shelved in the Library's Reference Section 7 behind the Reference Desk. Online versions of some writing guides can be found in our Electronic Reference Desk [For example: APA, AMA, and NLM ]