This is a guide to help you start searching the library catalog and the article databases using Start Your Research. There’s no need to do all of the steps, but doing these will help you practice searching more efficiently. At the end, you will have the opportunity to save your work for future use. Only you will see your work.
If you are using the Canvas mobile app to complete this form, you will not be able to export your completed document and save your work. Use the link below to open this form in your web browser for complete functionality.
Name:
Net ID:
Use your main ideas to build your database search here. Put one main idea with the other keywords on each line, separated by OR. Don’t forget to use quotation marks around a phrase of two or more words!
Example:
Snapchat OR “social media”
AND “body image” OR “self image”
AND teenager OR adolescent OR boy
List your main ideas and any keywords you've brainstormed or found in your background research.
On the library website, click on the Advanced Search text link under the Start Your Research search bar. Copy and paste your search on each line and click search. (Remember, they already have the ANDs there for you!)
How many results are in your list?
Too many results? Use the filters to limit your results to only academic journal articles in the last five years.
How many results do you have now?
Get the permalink for your search so you can come back to it any time! With our new interface, the permalink for an item is the same as the link in the top search bar.
Copy and paste the Permalink to the search here:
If you want to narrow down your list further, use the filter tools – especially Subject and Language – to narrow your list more.
Choose an article that will be helpful from your list by clicking on the title and reading the abstract. Use the Permalink in the address bar, and copy and paste the Permalink here:
Use the Cite tool in the top bar (the quotation marks symbol) to get the citation. Choose your citation style and copy and paste the citation here:
Remember, you can also email the article to yourself. Save it to your Google Drive, or download the full text from the column on the left.
Citation chasing backwards:
Did you find one good article? Look through the reference list or bibliography. Is there an article there that looks like it might be helpful?
If yes, copy and paste the title below.
Citation chasing forwards:
Using the Texas State University instance of Google Scholar, copy the title of the article and paste it into the search bar. Click on the "cited by" text link at the bottom of the article information. Is there an article in the cited by list that might be helpful?
If yes, copy and paste the title below.
And that’s it! You’ve practiced searching for information about your research question (which may have changed a little from what you’ve learned when doing your research) and using the database tools to narrow your search and find relevant articles.
This form will be available to you throughout the semester, so if you’re ever stuck while you’re searching, you can come back and use it again.
To save your work, click "Create document." Then, click export to save your work as a Word File. If you do not do this, your work will be lost.