Two questions to ask when you are looking for sources are 1) Where should I search for this information? and 2) How should I structure the search?
Where should I search?
Search@UW is a good starting point to find news, scholarly articles, books, videos, music, archival material, and more. For scholarly or academic sources, we have additional databases that are specialized in specific subjects. Browse through the Databases and Guides by Subject list to get recommendations.
How should I structure the search?
Database searches work best when you search with 2-3 words or phrases. These should be the main concepts, or keywords, from your topic or research question.
Example research question: How did women access health information in Medieval Europe?
My keywords would be: Women, health information, and Medieval Europe
Try entering these keywords in the database using AND to retrieve both or all of your keywords.
Women AND health information AND Medieval Europe
You can also use “” marks to keep phrases like “health information” together in the search.
Women AND “health information” AND Medieval Europe
During busy times and after hours, other librarians from our chat consortium will help you. Have a non-library question? See Contact UWM and Campus IT Support.
