BIO 491: Senior Seminar: Home

IDENTIFY KEYWORDS
The building block of a library database search is keywords. Keywords are central ideas or terms within your research question or problem. 

BOOLEAN SEARCH OPERATORS
Once you have your keywords identified (2-3 is a good place to begin), you then need to connect them together in a way the database understands how to search. This is done using the Boolean search operators AND, OR, and NOT. Connecting keywords using these search operators creates a search string. 

• AND - narrow search, used to combine terms together and focus search results
• OR - broad search, used to includes results that contain similar or like words, such as synonyms
• NOT - narrow search by exclusion, used to exclude results containing a particular keyword

SEARCH STRINGS
We call the written version of your keywords with boolean search operators the search string. Writing your search string at the beginning of your research process will help you better approach searching in library databases.

Example search string
genetic OR hereditary AND disease OR disorder AND treatment

1. Identify a clear and narrow thesis statement.
   Your thesis statement is your research roadmap. If specific and narrow, your thesis will guide exactly what kind of information you should find in your research. For example: A research paper about the effects of noise pollution from boating or shipping on marine mammals is more specific than the effects of ocean noise on marine ecosystems. With the narrower research topic, we know to look for information about boating or shipping travel, ocean noise pollution, and marine mammal auditory function. 
2. Use scholarly sources for all stages of research, including definitions of terms.
   Library resources that can help with introductory material, definitions, and quick facts are encyclopedias and dictionaries available in the Reference Room and online such as Credo Reference and Oxford Reference Online.
3. Use a variety of scholarly sources in your paper.
   Do not rely on the same few resources throughout your paper. Instead, find a variety of scholarly sources that help to support your thesis. Use the Bibliographies of articles to review a list of scholarship published on your topic. 
4. Start your research with primary sources.
   Primary sources in scientific research are the actual research studies conducted by scientists within their field. These article should be easily identifiable by their clear sections: introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. 
5. Always follow the trails of research from the information you consult.
   If a popular source magazine article, a secondary source journal article, or reports produced by organizations mentions a research study, track down the studies mentioned in these publications to find the original research
6. Make sure all sources cited are relevant to your thesis.
   If your paper is about ocean noises effects on marine life, do not cite noise impact on humans, unless you can make the case why this is relevant to include. 

ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIAS & DICTIONARIES

IN THE REFERENCE ROOM