When searching databases or the Online Catalog, consider the following when entering your keyword search terms:
1. Think about some basic terms that describe your research interest that you could enter in the database.
Some example: gender and textiles and archaeology
gender roles and Aztecs
women and pottery and archaeology
sex determination and bioarchaeology
grave goods and sex roles
2. However, are there synonyms or very similar terms that could also be used when searching for your topic?
For example: gender or women or men or sex or male or female or feminism or or femininity or masculinity
weaving or textiles or sewing
lithics or projectile points or stone tools
pottery or ceramics
gender roles or sex roles
archaeology or antiquities or prehistory
rock art or petroglyphs
3. Are there ways to "truncate" a term to pick up alternative spellings or singular/plural?
For example: archaeolog* -- for archaeology or archaeological or archaeologies
lithic* -- for lithic or lithics
textile* -- for textile or textiles
sex* -- for sex, sexual, sexuality, sexualities
maya* -- for maya, mayas, mayan
dimorphi* -- for dimorphic and dimorphism
femini* -- for feminine or feminism or femininity
Note: The most common truncation symbol is an asterisk *. The Online Catalog uses a question mark?
4. If appropriate or helpful, use additional terms and truncated terms in your search statement.
Examples of search statements:
gender and textile* and archaeolog*
(gender or women) and (weaving or textile*) and mississippian
(gender or women) and archaeological fieldwork
sex* dimorphi* and traits and human*
(pottery or ceramic*) and women and archaeolog*
