Start with just a few important, "key" words that describe your topic. These are your search terms.
You can add more or change them later, if needed.
islam women history can be made more specific by adding more terms, as in islam women history north africa
For example: judaism or jewish and philosophy
For example: ewe wedding customs
For example: ewe marriage traditions - compare this with the previous example.
For example: japanese vases (narrow, specific) versus japanese ceramics (broader, general)
For example: "mesoamerican architecture"
The examples here are not meant as topic suggestions, but simply to demonstrate a few search strategies.
If you're researching a cultural group, be aware that spellings can vary. As just one example, the Bambara people are also called Bamana.
PRO TIP: A simple web search of your group will reveal if they are known by more than one name. Then, when you start searching library resources, try a separate search on each variation!
Compare the results from bamana masks versus bambara masks.
Here are some more tips.
Library search tools bring up results ranked by relevance to your search terms. You may find what you need just by scrolling the first few screens.
However, you can filter your results to certain types of items.
Below are filtered search results and which filter was applied to each.
Search | Filter applied |
---|---|
islam women history | Availability, Peer-reviewed Journals |
judaism or jewish and philosophy and kabbalah | Genre, Electronic Books |
ewe marriage traditions | Subject, Ghana |
japanese ceramics | Availability, Available On Shelf |
"mesoamerican architecture" | Resource Type, Books |