FYS 120C: Politics of Science Fiction

Truncation
Strip a search term back to its root and attach an *

• Example: comput* yields computer, computerize, computerization

Phrases
Put quotation marks (") around phrases or words you want to keep together

• Example: "United States"

Boolean Operators
AND: results will reflect ideas on both sides of the AND (results will be restricted)

OR: results will reflect ideas on either side of the OR but necessarily both (results are expanded)

NOT: use to resolve ambiguities (will restrict results somewhat)

Keywords and Subjects

Keywords are the words YOU come up with when performing a search

Subjects are vocabulary that librarians use to classify the records in a catalog or database

How to search

1. Begin with a keyword search using your own vocabulary or words you discovered during perusal of tertiary sources
    
2. Look at the filters to the left side of your search results.  See if there are ways to create a more targeted list
    
3. Open a record that looks promising
    
4. Look at the Subject field in the record.  Is there vocabulary there you can use to perform a more precise search?

Some examples of Subjects

• Science fiction -- History and criticism
• Science fiction -- Social aspects
• Science fiction -- Political aspects
• Science fiction, American -- History and criticism
• Science fiction -- Women authors -- History and criticism
• American fiction -- African American authors -- History and criticism