Try one or more of these techniques to improve your chances of finding an article:
- Check Your Spelling - One Search and library databases, unlike Google, do not always spell-check your search terms nor recommend other search terms to use. You could get "no results" merely because of a spelling error.
- Don't Search with Exact Phrases - Using double quotation marks around your search phrase retrieves articles that must have your search words in that exact order. Removing these quotation marks will broaden your search results.
- Remove Limiters - There are many ways you can limit your search results such as by publication date and content/material type. Removing limiters gives you a better chance at finding an article.
- Use Different Search Terms - When searching One Search and specific library databases, it helps to match your search terms to the terminology used in the databases. Brainstorm other words that have similar meanings and redo your search with those.
- Search in Different Databases - Try a different library database. While there is some overlap in databases, each of our databases contain unique articles.
- Try Google Scholar - Google Scholar includes article citations/abstracts for articles that we don't have in our library databases. Once you've identified an article, we can get it for you for free through interlibrary loan.
Still stuck? Speak with your instructor or writing tutor. They can help you think about topic more broadly or ways in which to adjust your research question.
