Searching ProQuest : Basic Keyword Search

1. Searching ProQuest:Basic Keyword Search At first glance, how would you search this database?

2. Searching ProQuest:Basic Keyword Search You would type a keyword in the search box circled below. Try it yourself using a keyword for your topic.

3. Searching ProQuest:Basic Keyword Search On the following two pages, there are images of an article that I chose after a keyword search on the death penalty. Look at these pages carefully with the following question in mind: Why are the words “death penalty” in red in some places but not in others? What exactly did I tell the database to do by searching the way I did?

4. Notice WHERE the words in red appear:

5. This is a continuation of the article. Why aren’t the words “death penalty” in red in this section?

6. Searching ProQuest:Basic Keyword Search What did I tell ProQuestby searching this way? How is this different from Issues and Controversies and CQ Researcher?

7. Searching ProQuest:Basic Keyword Search When I searched ProQuest, I told the database to search the citation and abstractof every article for the keywords“death penalty.” In other words, I searched for the keywords “death penalty” in the citation and abstract fields. The words in red on the previous page show where it found those words in those citations or abstracts. The red words illustrate exactly why that article appeared in that search. The green words in the sentences above are vocabulary words that you need to know. They are defined on the next page.

8. Vocabulary • Field—an element such as title, author, publication date, that a database provider will separate out so that they can be conveniently searched. • Citation—identifying elements of an information source (e.g., author, title, publisher, date) • Abstract—summary • Database—organized collection of items (e.g., magazine/newspaper articles) that share common elements • Keyword—best guess from your brain of the vocabulary that represents your topic. Usually where you start a search

9. Searching ProQuest:Advanced Search with Subject Headings Subject Heading—vocabulary provided by the database to describe the topic of an article or book To improve the relevancy of your results, you need to use vocabulary that matches the vocabulary used by the particular database you are searching. The question is, however, how do you know this vocabulary? and then, how do you refine your searches to use it once you have found it? The following slides answer these questions.

10. Searching ProQuest:Advanced Search with Subject Headings In ProQuest’s advanced search, there so many options! You can search for your keywords in the fields shown in the pulldown menus. See below.

11. ProQuest: Advanced Search with Subject Headings Tips from the database to help you revise your search My keyword search on “death penalty” was a poor search because those keywords resulted in 42,738 results! What suggestions does ProQuest have to help me in my next search? Take a look at the results page:

12. Searching ProQuest:Basic Keyword Search On the results page, ProQuest suggests subject headings (topics) and publication titles. Pay particular attention to the subject headings. They will help you refine your topic, find subcategories to cover in your paper, and search for more relevant material.

13. Searching ProQuest:Advanced Search with Subject Headings Besides the results page, subject headings can also often be found on the article page at the top.

14. Searching ProQuest:Advanced Search with Subject Headings Subject Heading—vocabulary provided by the database to describe the topic of an article or book The use of subject headings ensures that the articles that the database gives you will be about the subject that you’re looking for. Keep in mind that they will not be the same in every database. Every time a database gives you useful vocabulary, write down the name of the database and the subject headings for any ideas that might be related to your argument. Every time you find an article that you like, be sure to look at and note the subject headings! Use them instead of keywords to improve your relevancy.

15. Searching ProQuest:Advanced Search with Subject Headings In ProQuest you can use the subject headings in two ways: • Click on them right on the page • Insert them into the search box and use the pulldown menu to tell the database that you are searching these words in the subject heading field.

16. Searching ProQuest:Advanced Search with Subject Headings See below for a picture showing how to search by subject heading. Notice that you can combine them with another subject heading to get even more specific in your search:

17. Searching ProQuest:Advanced Search with Subject Headings If you don’t know a second subject heading, you can also combine the subject heading search with a keyword search in the citation and abstract field:

18. Searching ProQuest:Advanced Search with Subject Headings The previous search, capital punishment (subject heading) and teenagers (keyword in the citation and abstract field) lead me to find out that teenagers is also a subject heading in ProQuest(see below). In my next search, therefore, I’d get more relevant results by using teenagers as a subject rather than a keyword.

19. Searching InfoTrac OneFile and ERIC:Advanced Search with Subject Headings • Use what you just learned about searching using subject headings in ProQuest to search other complex databases like InfoTrac OneFile and ERIC (in FirstSearch). The principals of searching are the same. Both ERIC and InfoTrachave an Advanced Search screen that lets you use pulldown menus to search by subject headings. • Keep in mind, however: • You need to start with a keyword search and then look for subject headings that the database will “suggest.” All three databases will suggest subject headings for you to use, but they are located in different places on the screen. • The subject headings are different in different databases, so you need to keep track of them by taking notes and labeling by database