Check out these video and text tutorials to level up your search skills in academic databases. Make sure to watch these before proceeding to the "Homework 2: Find Books" part of your homework.
(Note: please don't contact the makers of these videos for further help! Contact your librarian: Rachel Stein rstein7@tulane.edu.)
This video from the University of Houston Libraries explains key differences between Google and academic research databases.
Among the points they underscore is that you can use 'natural language'' to search Google, e.g.: Who was the first Black Vice-President of Costa Rica? In other words, you can search as if you were directly asking a question. (Answer, in case you didn't know: Epsy Campbell Barr)
By contrast, research databases do not work with natural language searches, but rather, keywords searches.
Watch this video to learn more (but contact Tulane Libraries--not UH--for help!)
Now that you've learned about the importance of keyword searching in academic databases, watch this video tutorial from Tulane University Libraries on how to identify keywords and phrases for your information search:
Now that you've learned more about selecting keywords, what is the best way to combine keywords for an effective search?
Boolean and other operators are important for refining your search. Watch this overview from Beloit College Libraries to learn more.
Watch this video to see a librarian do a sample search with Boolean and other operators in Library Search.
