This tutorial will help you identify effective keywords to find the most relevant search results for your topic or research question. The strategies discussed in this tutorial can be applied to any database or search engine. Click anywhere on the image to begin. This tutorial will not work in Internet Explorer.
Finding a Book in the Library's Online Catalog
This tutorial will help you navigate and find books in Wichita State University Libraries' online catalog. Click anywhere on the image to begin.
Finding Articles Using SmartSearch
This tutorial will show you how to search for articles using SmartSearch, a library search engine that provides results from a variety of different databases subscribed to by the University Libraries. Click anywhere on the image to begin.
Searching for Background Information in Electronic Reference Databases
When you are getting ready to do library research, the first thing you need to do after you select your research topic is get background information on it. Gaining an understanding of the topic, interrelated issues surrounding it, and the controversies about it will allow you to begin to develop your research question. In addition, you will discover terminology, including synonyms and related terms, which you can use as search terms.
The WSU University Libraries (UL) have a collection on electronic reference sources that provide credible, authoritative background information. It is true that you could search Wikipedia; however, the reliability of articles in Wikipedia is questionable since most of the time anyone can write or edit an article. In addition to having the electronic version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the UL has some electronic databases containing large numbers of reference sources. For a list of go-to reference sources in Engineering and related subjects, see the databases linked below.
To access these databases and all the other electronic databases to which the UL subscribes, go to the A-Z List of Databases. Please note: if you are not using a computer on the WSU campus network, you will need to type in your myWSU ID and password.
Click anywhere on the image to begin to begin the "Searching Credo Reference Database" tutorial.
This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new windowThis tutorial will show you how to both expand and refine search results using advanced techniques. The strategies discussed in this tutorial can be applied to any database or search engine. Click on the image to begin the tutorial.
