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CRJU 420: Analyzing Homicide

Search Tips & Strategies: Keywords

Library resources like Find It @ USC and article databases search differently from Google or other internet search engines.  One of the biggest differences is that they search best by using keywords that describe the most important concepts in your research question. 

What are the most important concepts in your research question?  What terms can you use to describe the concepts? 

Thinking through this process will provide you with a list of keywords that you can use when beginning to search Find It @ USC, article databases, as well as other library resources.  Here is an example:

serial killer              trauma               
serial murder abuse
serial homicide  

 

Search Tips & Strategies: Constructing Your Search

AND AND narrows your search by telling Find It @ USC, article databases, or other library resources that ALL keywords must be found in a source in order for it appear in your results
OR

OR broadens your search by telling Find It @ USC, article databases, or other library resources that ANY keywords much be found in a source in order for it to appear in your results. 

This is a great option for searching synonyms or related terms.  If you type in women OR females, results will have either term but not necessarily both.
*

This is a truncation symbol that will broaden your search by including various word endings.

     serial killer*  will search for serial killer as well as serial killers

     

Search Tips & Strategies: Search Example

Here is an example of how to construct a search in article databases and Find It @ USC's Advanced Search: