The starting place for your library search is through your research question. A well-articulated, focused question is required for an effective search of article databases and library catalogs. Without a good question it is difficult to determine the terminology for your search. If you don't have a well-defined research problem, don't panic! At least not yet. Use the library to come up with your research problem. Search Skyline for subject encyclopedias and browse the current periodicals area to see what other researchers are doing. With every thing you read ask, "Why?" or "How would results be different if..?"
Tip: in the discussion section of many research articles the author proposes further areas of inquiry. This means they are giving you ideas!
| Quick Help |
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| Library of Congress Call Number |
QA |
| Skyline |
Books/e-books/links to journals in or available through the Auraria Library |
| Skyline |
Where & in what form articles from a specific journal are available? |
| Gold Rush |
What database indexes a journal in my topic? Where are the articles most likely to be available full text online? |
| Prospector |
Books/e-books/links to journals in other major Front Range libraries |
| WorldCat |
Books/e-books/journal titles in libraries worldwide, including your local university or college library |
| Article databases and indexes |
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| Applied Mathematics |
Databases include MathSciNet, ScienceDirect, JSTOR, etc. |
| Science |
Databases include Access Science, Engineering Village, National Science Digital Library |
| History |
Databases include Historical Abstracts, American History and Life, etc. |
| Multidisciplinary |
Expanded Academic & Academic Search Premiere - narrow your search to refereed or peer reviewed for more scholarly research |
Most databases are not 100% full text however, so there are two or three steps to get any article.
- Identify the title of the journal. Be sure not to confuse this with the title of the article.
- Search Skyline by Periodical Title, typing in the name of the journal title. If Auraria Library has the journal, a record will appear that shows complete information (status, location, call number, format). If we don't have it, go to the next step.
- Search Gold Rush by Periodical Title. If Auraria Library owns a database that has full text from the journal, a record will appear that shows complete information (database name and a link to the database). If we don't have it, go to the next step.
- ILL (Interlibrary Loan)- getting copies of journal articles that are not full text online Some of the databases listed above contain full text articles online. Request the article through Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery (ILL) via ILLIAD . This works really well, they mail you the article for free to your home. The downside is that it might take a week or two. So, give yourself time. If you don't have the time, go to Prospector and determine which library, if any, owns the journal locally. You can go to that library and make a copy of that article.
Reference Sources
Dictionary of Scientific Biography REF Q141.D5
Encyclopaedia of Mathematics: an Updated and Annotated Translation of the Soviet "Mathematical Encyclopaedia ." REF QA5 M3713
Notable Mathematicians. REF QA28 N66
Dictionary of World Biography REF CT104 .D54
Boolean logic
Boolean Logic allows you to combine keywords to make a search more precise. Databases either provide separate search boxes to create Boolean statements or a single search box where you can type in a complex statement.
Common commands:
AND - algebra and history - narrows a search
OR - (algebra or geometry) - expands a search
NOT - Removes a term from a search. Use NOT sparingly. May lose useful information.
put it all together :
history AND (algebra or geometry)
For more about effective searching, ask a reference librarian or checkout this site on Boolean Searching
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