Finding the right resources is key to an annotated bibliography. Search for evidence-based literature through a variety of databases.
A Library database typically include scholarly journal articles, popular magazine articles and newspapers, books, and videos. The content of a research database is also reviewed and updated regularly. Library databases cannot be accessed through search engines or the open web. Many resources require a University of Dundee logon.
Search engines such as Google searches for results across the internet, including websites. Most information found through a search engine is free.
Search engine searches tend to be keyword/question and on broad topics. Database searches have more functionality where you can focus your specific topic by using searching techniques such as Boolean.
You will find that there are a variety of different databases that you can use during your studies to find information relevant to your topic. It can be difficult to know which ones to use and for what information. The format may be similar but the different databases will find different types or articles/research papers. This table might help you decide:
|
Database/ Search Engine |
Pros |
Cons |
Rating for academic assessments |
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University of Dundee Library Catalogue which covers all subjects Access to books, ebooks, journal articles |
Full text access to all online resources Use red arrows to find references/cited by papers that you will get full text access to |
Can be tricky to search |
***** |
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|
A general social science database covering all subjects including articles in science, technology, medicine, social science, health and arts and humanities |
Excellent database for mental health. Cited by option helps to |
You may not get full text access to all papers Can be difficult to access off campus |
**** |
|
|
Interdisciplinary database including Social Science and Science fields including public health, psychology and psychiatry. Provides various journals in medicine, science, social sciences including humanities |
Can be useful for international perspectives. Cited by option useful. |
You may not get full text access to all papers |
*** |
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|
Searches across scholarly literature including articles |
Useful for a basic, broad search to begin with |
You may not get full text access to all papers The quality of articles can be difficult to assess |
*** |
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|
is a general search engine - searching the internet for webpages from your search words |
Useful for searching for Government policies, Guidelines, general information |
You may not get full text access to all papers searching via Google Use with caution – not always the best database for academic purposes |
* |
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publishers' searchable webpage for Elsevier. Topics cover Physical Sciences and Engineering, Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities |
Search for peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters |
Limiting your search to 1 publisher is not ideal. Off campus access can be tricky. You may not get full text access to all papers |
** |
For more subject specific databases, explore
A normal keyword search might be ok for quick and general search but you may find too many results to scroll through. Many of the results will be irrelevant too.
When searching it helps to know what you're looking for, what you're not looking for and having the skills to find it. Using Boolean terms can help. Boolean Search uses a combination of keywords to organise and sift through your searches.
Using Boolean techniques when searching can:
Use any or a combination of the techniques below to make searching easier for you.
Using AND between keywords narrows your search results from just a keyword search
| Covid-19 vaccine | basic keyword search |
| Covid-19 AND vaccine | will combine terms together and reduce result numbers |
| Covid-19 AND vaccine AND health promotion | can be used more than once in same search |
Using OR extends your search out which retrieves more results. Works very well with very similar keywords and means you're not missing out on any relevant research.
| Covid-19 OR Coronavirus | will search for same term simultaneously, giving more results |
| Covid-19 OR Coronavirus OR pandemic | can be used more than once in same search |
Use NOT to exclude results that you're interested in and reduce the number of records retrieved.
| Covid-19 OR Coronavirus NOT SARS | will exclude SARS records from search |
Phrase searching works really well on all databases. Works well for a phrase that can also work as separate keywords.
| Vaccine hesitancy | will search for vaccine and hesitancy as separate words extending your search out and showing many irrelevant records with records with vaccine and records with the word hesitancy. |
| "Vaccine hesitancy" | will retrieve records with phrase only |
| Covid-19 AND "Vaccine hesitancy" AND "health promotion" | can be combined with other search terms |
Truncation can extend your search out to ensure you're not missing out on any relevant records. Works with words with different endings. Go to last letter of word before ending changes and add *. Here's some examples:
| nurs* will retrieve records with the keywords | nurse, nurses, nursing |
| dentist* will retrieve records with the keywords | dentist, dentists, dentistry |
| manag* will retrieve records with the keywords | manager, managers, management |
| vaccin* will retrieve records with the keywords | vaccine, vaccines, vaccination, vaccinations |
You can use parentheses/nesting to build a search with a combination of Boolean Operators by using (...). The search inside the (...) is always done first so this can affect your search results.
| (Coronavirus OR Covid-19 OR pandemic) AND vaccine | keeps synonyms together |
| (Coronavirus OR Covid-19 OR pandemic) AND (vaccin* OR immun*) | can be added more than once to each search |
| ((Coronavirus OR Covid-19 OR pandemic NOT SARS) AND vaccine |
You can also use parentheses within parentheses. |
Some databases allow for searching for words within the same sentence or within a defined number of words within one another e.g.
| SAME | Covid-19 SAME "vaccine hesitancy" | using SAME will search for Covid-19 and "vaccine hesitancy" in same sentence |
| W- | Covid-19 W3 "vaccine hesitancy" | using W3 will search for covid-19 within 3 words of "vaccine hesitancy" (change the number for limit of words between phrases/keywords e.g. W5, W7.) |
| NEAR | Covid-19 NEAR "vaccine hesitancy" | using NEAR will search for covid-19 within the databases definition of NEAR to "vaccine hesitancy" |