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HIS 141 - Northwest - History of the United States I: Find Articles

Top Article Databases

Databases for History of the United States I

Other Article Databases:

Special Search Strategy

Truncation: *

  • The asterisk * is a common symbol used to represent any number of letters at the ends of words

  • Helps find singulars, plurals, and variant endings of words

  • Example: docu* finds documents, document, documentation, documented

Limiters:

  • Most databases let you limit search results. Some limiters include:

    • Language  

    • Publication type..such as Peer-Reviewed or Scholarly Journals.

    • Date of Publication

Phrases: " "

  • Enclose phrases in quotation marks when searching the Web or most databases

  • Phrase searching in individual databases may vary. 

  • Example: "Revolutionary War"

  • Example: "President Andrew Jackson"

MLA Style for Academic Work

Key Word Searching

State Your Topic as a Question:

  • For example, if you are interested in finding out about how John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln, phrase your question: "Describe how John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln."
  • Identify the Keywords in your question. Here they are John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln and assassination.

Too Much Information? 

  • If you are finding too many sources, narrow your topic by using the "and" operator.

For example: "President Lincoln" and "John Wilkes Booth"

Too Little Information?

  • You may need to broaden your topic or perhaps select a different one. Broaden your topic by linking similar words with the "or" operator.