TSEM 102: Climate & Society (RJ Neff)

Searching a scholarly database works a little differently than the typical Google or web search. To create an effective search strategy:

1. Start with background research to learn terminology and important aspects of your topic.
2. Identify the main concepts and keywords. Brainstorm synonyms and related terms for your keywords.
3. Put your keywords together using AND, OR, and NOT as necessary.
4. Each main concept gets its own search box; synonyms / related concepts are separated with OR.
5. Parentheses group the operations, as in math.
6. Adjust your search using database filters / limiters (limit to scholarly articles, adjust the dates, etc.).
7. Search again based on what you learned from your first search.

Here is what a scholarly database search might look like for the following research question: What impact is global climate changing having on coastal environments in Maryland? Note that quotation marks tell the database to search those words as a phrase (so we'll find articles that say "global warming" as a phrase, rather than articles that say "global" in one paragraph and "warming" in another, for example).

Here are a few databases containing scholarly research on climate change. You can find additional databases using our A-Z Database List. You can also find articles by searching individual journals via our Journal List.