LibGuides: PSY/SOC 230: Social Problems: Find Scholarly Sources

Suggested Databases

Social Science Premium Collection This link opens in a new window
Search for articles in all the social sciences. Select subject-specific databases for more focused searches.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Find periodical and newspaper articles in all major subject areas, including Business, Social Sciences, Education, Science and Technology, as well as the Humanities and Fine Arts.

You need to use keywords and Boolean operators when searching for materials in library databases.

Keywords describe the main ideas of your research question - think nouns or short phrases instead of whole questions.

Boolean operators allow you to combine your keywords to make your searches more efficient. Boolean operators include AND (narrows your search), OR (broadens your search), and NOT (excludes terms to narrow further).

Watch this short video for an overview of the best way to search in a database:

Video Length: 1:28

Used with permission from the Ronald Williams Library at Northeastern Illinois University.

The Search Strategy Builder is a tool designed to teach you how to create a search string using Boolean logic. While it is not a database and is not designed to input a search, you should be able to cut and paste the results into most databases' search boxes.

Concept 1

and

Concept 2

and

Concept 3

Name your concepts here

Search terms

List alternate terms for each concept.

These can be synonyms, or they can be specific examples of the concept.

Use single words, or "short phrases" in quotes

or

or

or

or

The Search Strategy Builder was developed by the University of Arizona Libraries and is used under a Creative Commons License.