The databases available from IIT are valuable tools for your research. You can always type in a simple search phrase and get results, but try a few of these tips to add power to your searches.
Keywords are words or phrases that explain your topic. All searches start with at least one key word, whether it's a simple or complex search. Use this handy table to help create a list of keywords for your search.
There are two basic approaches to getting good results from a search:
Pre-Search: This involves constructing a more complex search that will return more meaningful results. This may involve boolean operators, searching only within a specific field, or using phrase or truncation methods.
Post-Search: This starts with a basic keyword search that returns a wide array of titles, then narrowing the results. There are many ways to narrow results, but most databases will allow you to set filters by subjects, dates, and whether the articles are available in full-text.
A truncation search allows you to search for several similar terms using one word. For example if you wanted to search for information on industry in China, using the search term
industr*
will return any results that include the words "industry", "industries", or "industrial".
Many databases use the asterisk * symbol for a truncation search; some may use a question mark ?. Check the help section of the database you're using to be sure, or ask a librarian.
You may already be using this method when you're searching in Google, but by placing quotation marks around a specific phrase, you can limit your results to items that use that exact phrase.
If you search forthe exact phrase "pulse generator", the following title will be included in your results,
"Design of a Tunable All-Digital UWB Pulse Generator CMOS Chip for Wireless Endoscope,"
but not the title
"Helix antennas for generators of short high-voltage pulses".