Use “Advanced Search” to build your searches. Put each concept into its own search box.
Use quotation marks when searching for specific phrases.
If you're not getting back enough results, add synonyms or related terms to each box using “OR.”
If you can’t think of additional keywords, do a general Google search for your term or use the database's thesaurus or index to find related terms.
If you're getting back too many results, use the database thesaurus or subject index to search for the most relevant results. You can also add an additional concept to your search. Consider focusing on a particular population or more specific aspect of your original research question.
When you use HawkFind, you can filter your results. Look for the filters listed on the left-hand side of your results screen. If you're looking for scholarly journal articles, use both the filter for "Scholarly & Peer-Review" and the "Journal Article" filter.
You can also filter for magazine articles and newspaper articles. If you're looking for books, you'll get better results when you use the MU Library Catalog.
If you need to narrow your results, try subject searching. Follow these steps for subject searching (screenshot with numbered steps below):
