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Physics

Students working on laptops in mezzanine.Forming your Search String

The more complicated your question, the less likely a search engine can understand it. To get the best result, identify keywords and like terms to create a search string.

Example research question: How does kinematics explain the movements of figure skaters?

Keywords: Kinematics, movement, figure skaters

Like terms can include synonyms and also examples of your keywords. If you don't get results from searching your keywords, it doesn't mean that the research doesn't exist. It could mean that the researcher used different language to describe the same topic

  • Kinematics: study of motion, kinetic energy, centrifugal force
  • Movement: motion, spins, jumps
  • Figure skaters: ice skating

Search strings connect your keywords and like terms together for the best results.

Too many results? Use AND to narrow results

kinematics AND movement AND figure skaters

Too few results? Use OR to broaden results

kinematics OR kinetic energy AND movement OR spin OR jump AND figure skater* OR ice skating

students reading in front of periodical display

Also known as peer-reviewed articles, scholarly articles are sources that are:

  • written by experts in the field
  • reviewed by other experts in the field (hence the peer-reviewed)
  • intended for an academic audience

While you can find scholarly articles through general search engines, databases contain a feature where you can narrow your results to only scholarly articles.

Find Subject-Specific Articles:

Find Articles in Multidisciplinary Databases:

Student thumbing through a book in front of library stacks

Books and eBooks often provide a broader overview and cover more information than a scholarly journal article.

You don't need to read an entire book to use it in your research. Use the index at the back of a book to find the information you need.

To find books and eBooks, you can either:

  • Search the NOBLE catalog
  • Browse the stacks for a book related to your topic

 Q1-295              Science (General)

 QA801-939       Analytical Mechanics

 QB                    Astronomy

 QC                    Physics (General)

Quick Way to Cite

Screenshot of Cite box on EBSCO database showing a formatted MLA citation that you can copy and paste

If you found an article on a database, look for the Cite button to get a formatted citation for your Works Cited, in less time than it takes for EasyBib to load.

APA Citations

The American Psychological Association (APA) style of citations are most often used for subjects in the sciences and social sciences.

If you find an article or book that you can't access, don't pay for it! Instead, submit an Interlibrary Loan request, and you'll receive articles within a few days!

Are you looking for a specific article, like an article that you found referenced in a bibliography? Search for the journal in Journal Finder, linked below:

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