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Developing a Search Strategy
Search strategy is the process of finding information in a logical, step-by-step manner. Using a search strategy insures that you will find the information and materials you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Research Steps:
- Choose your topic
- Find background information
- Find books on your topic
- Find periodical articles
- Find networked resources or relevant Web sites
- Evaluate your sources
- Cite your sources
For more information
about library research strategy and using library resources, go to Research
Strategy: a tutorial.
Return to Top
Finding Background Information
Reference Sources
Gale virtual reference library
Provides the full text of many encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and directories.
Other General Interest and Reference:
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online
- Oxford Reference Online
- Oxford English Dictionary
- Roget's Thesaurus
- Language Tools
Finding Books
Click
on the image to connect to the Cornell Library online catalog:
- About
the CU Library Catalog
The Cornell University Library Catalog includes the holdings of 19 Cornell University libraries. The catalog contains records for books, computer files, government documents, manuscripts and archives, maps, musical scores, periodicals, serials, sound recordings, and visual materials. CU Library Catalog Help Pages
- Borrow
Direct
A new rapid book request and delivery system that enables Cornell faculty, staff, and students to search the combined library catalogs of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale, and directly request expedited delivery of circulating items. - Interlibrary
Loan Services
If Cornell Library does not have an item you need, Use ILLiad (InterLibrary Loan Internet Accessible Database) to request that we borrow materials from other libraries.
Finding Articles:
Two approaches to finding articles:
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1. Search a Specific Database
Recommended Databases:
General/Interdisciplinary
ProQuest Research Library [Restricted to Cornell]
Includes an extensive number of periodicals, covering general interest magazines and
scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences. Also included
are citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. Full
text of many articles is provided.
Sociological
AnthroSource [Restricted to Cornell]
Current issues of the American Anthropological Association journals and bulletins, plus searchable archived issues of all the Association's publications, <1888-2003>. Covers political, medical, cultural, and legal anthropology; ethnology; education; humanism; archaeology; nutrition; gender issues; and linguistics.
Sociological Abstracts [Restricted to Cornell]
Abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Subjects covered include community development, culture and social structure, demography and human biology, environmental interactions, family and social welfare, health and medicine and law, religion and science, social psychology and group interactions, welfare services, and women’s studies.
Historical
America: History and Life [Restricted to Cornell]
A complete bibliographical reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present, covering over 2000 journals published worldwide.
APS Online [Restricted to Cornell]
APS Online spans over 1,500 titles and 7 million pages of content, from the first American magazines, published in 1741, to the World War II period-200 years of American history as recorded in magazines, journals, and newspapers.
ProQuest historical newspapers [Restricted to Cornell]
Full-text and full-image articles from the New York Times (1851-2003), the Wall Street Journal (1889-1989), the Washington Post (1877-1990), every page from every issue in PDF files. The database is an ongoing project.
Literary
MLA International Bibliography [Restricted to Cornell]
An international database providing references to scholarly articles from over 4000 journals dealing with languages, literature, folklore and linguistics. It is useful for finding literary criticism of a particular author or work, as well as articles on literary theory, women's studies, popular culture, and performing arts.
LION (Literature online)
Articles, monographs and dissertations from the Annual bibliography of English language and literature (ABELL); full-text articles from literary journals; and biographical information on widely studied authors.
2. Search a number of databases at the same time using Find it!
The Find it! feature on the Library Gateway allows you to perform a simple search across multiple databases. For more precise searching, it is best to search the databases individually. See the Recommended Databases above.
Using Find it!, you can do a simple search in 4 general resources or you can select a list of subject-specific databases to search.
Evaluating Sources
Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial step in the process of scholarly research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, or multimedia sources are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item or have the item in hand.
How
to Critically Analyze Information Sources
Lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness
of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.
Distinguishing
Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria
Shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience,
and appearance.
Evaluating
Web Resources
Lists ways to analyze the Web sites you find.
Evaluating
Web Sites: Criteria and Tools
See this page for additional suggestions specific to Web sites.
Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites
Offers a table of suggestions.
Citing Sources
| APA
citation style Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) Africana,
Hotel, Management, Olin, and Uris Libraries APA citation style (CUL Gateway Help pages) APA Reference Examples for Electronic Source Materials (Excerpted from the 5th edition of the Publication Manual) APAStyle.org (APA's web site) |
MLA
citation style
Olin and Uris Libraries Z253 .M68 2003 MLA citation style (CUL Gateway Help pages) MLA Style (MLA's web site)
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Managing Information using Bibliographic/Citation Software
Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity
Research and Reference Help
- Library Gateway Help
- CU Library Catalog Help
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- Reference Desk Directory
- Reference
Desk Schedules in Olin and Uris Libraries
- Olin Library Reference phone number: 255-4144
- Uris Library Reference phone number: 255-2339
- Writing Walk-in Service (Knight Institute) -- available in Olin Library
Oct. 19 , 2007
Maureen Morris [mm342@cornell.edu]
Reference Librarian
Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca
NY 14853
PSA: Public Services and Assessment
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu