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U.S. Government Information & Congressional Publications

Databases at UD

Keep in mind that finding information on topics may require you to search within subject specific databases. 

Tips & Tricks for Searching for Articles

Finding articles within databases and journals is not the same process you would use to conduct a search in Google or an internet search engine. You cannot type in a question, but rather need to choose specific keywords and phrases to find results. These tips are similar to how you would search for material in DELCAT. 

Helpful Ways to Search: 

  • Use quotations around a phrase to "tell" the database or journal that you want these words to remain together.
    • Ex: "American exceptionalism" 
  • Think of synonyms to your keywords...Especially when conducting historical research, you may need to develop words and phrases that were used during that particular time period, rather than modern-day words.
    • Ex: World War I; First World War; The Great War - All would give you different results! 
  • Use AND/OR to connect words, concepts, and phrases together to receive specified results.
    • Ex: World War I AND United States

Use the Advanced Search option in databases and journals to narrow down by date, region, type of document, and more!