Choosing the Right Type of Source for Your Research

Different types of sources can be useful in different circumstances. Understanding sources will save you time and help you learn where to look. 

When to search for books? 

Books provide in-depth coverage on a topic and often contain historical information.

Search for books when you need significant information on a single topic. 

When to search for reference sources? 

Reference sources such as dictionaries and encyclopedias provide background information and historical research on a topic.

Search for reference sources when you need factual background information to provide context for your argument. 

When to search for scholarly articles?

Scholarly articles are peer reviewed journal articles written by subject experts which provide new research or insights in their field. Because the peer review process is rigorous, these articles hold more weight in the academic community than other types of articles but also take longer to publish. 

Search for scholarly articles when you need reputable research to support your argument. 

When to search for trade articles? 

Trade articles are non-peer reviewed articles written by industry experts or professionals in the field. Because these articles are not reviewed as thoroughly, they are published more quickly than scholarly articles.

Search for trade articles when you need information about recent developments, news, and trends in the field. 

Six Steps to Smart Searching

These advanced search strategies will work when searching in the UNT Library Catalog as well as many other common databases and search engines. 

Identify the keywords in your research question.

Keywords are words that carry content and meaning. The keywords in the research  question "What is the feeding range of the blue whale in the Pacific Ocean?" are feeding range, blue whale and Pacific Ocean.

Brainstorm synonyms for your keywords.

Think of words similar to your keywords in case a database doesn't use your original keywords. Synonyms for blue whale are baleen whale and Balaenoptera musculus.

When you don't know synonyms for your topic keywords, you can use online dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference books to find them. These databases are great places to find keyword synonyms.

Create Boolean searches using the keywords.

A Boolean search is a search using the words AND, OR and NOT between the keywords. These words have a special function when used in a database.

• The search [blue whale AND Pacific Ocean] will find all of the articles that contain both words. AND makes your search narrower.
• The search [blue whale OR Balaenoptera musculus] will find all articles that contain one word, or the other, or both. OR is placed between synonyms and makes your search broader.
• The search [blue whale NOT Atlantic Ocean] will find all articles containing "blue whale" and exclude the articles that also contain "Atlantic Ocean." NOT excludes articles that you don't want.  

Use the truncation symbol (or wildcard symbol) to search for word variations.

You can avoid doing multiple searches for variations on word endings using the truncation symbol * (the asterisk) in most databases.  Entering the keyword "blue whale*" will look for both blue whale and blue whales.

Add keywords to limit the type of article you retrieve.

If you want a literature review, add "AND review" to your keywords. To find a research study, add "AND study" to your keywords.

Enter your Boolean searches in the Advanced Search of a database.

Always go to the Advanced Search in a database to enter your Boolean searches because it gives you multiple boxes with the Boolean operators between them. If you are using a search with multiple search strings, enter OR within the search boxes and AND between the search boxes, e.g., [blue whale OR Balaenoptera musculus] AND [feeding range OR feeding grounds] AND [Pacific Ocean].