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Nutrition

This guide will assist you through your research of the subject of Nutrition.

Basic Search Tips

SearchUnlike Google, library databases can't understand an entire sentence. So you'll need to break your topic down into the most important ideas - the KEYWORDS.

 

Example Topic: How does the introduction of the Mediterranean Diet affect those who are at risk for coronary heart disease?

 

The specifics of your topic will matter when selecting sources, but for searching you only need the most essential components.

 

Keywords: CVD, Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Disease, Mediterranean Diet

 

Most words have synonyms that mean the same, or very similar, things. For each keyword in your topic, try to come up with at least one synonym. Not all keywords will have synonyms, but many do!

Example: 

Keyword: reduction     Synonym: lessen

 

Keep an Eye Out

Sometimes scholars use terms that you might not be familiar with, or which might mean something very specific within the discipline. While searching, look for unfamiliar terms or words that show up a lot. Try searching for those and see if you find more relevant sources.

Most library databases have search tools built in. Try some of these:  

 

  • Subject: Think of subjects as official hashtags. Use them to find sources about that subject.
  • Date Range: Limit your search to sources published between specific years.
  • Peer Reviewed: Limit your search to scholarly journal articles.
  • Full Text: Make sure all of the results are available to read in full.

Look on the left and right of your search results, or for an "advanced search" page to find these tools - and more!

Evaluate

You can evaluate any source using the 5 W's:

  • Who: ...wrote it? Are they an expert?
  • What: ...is the purpose of this resource?
  • Where: ...was this information published? ...does the information come from?
  • When: ...was this published or last updated?
  • Why: ...is this resource useful? ...is this resource better than other ones?

Advanced Search Tips

 

Use the operator AND to find only sources that mention both keywords.

coronary heart disease AND  Mediterranean diet

This search will bring back fewer results than searching either keyword on its own.   

Use the OR operator to expand your search with additional keywords.

CVD OR coronary heart disease

This will find sources that include either word, so you'll see more results than by searching for just one keyword.

 

 

Use the “QUOTES” strategy to search for several words in a phrase.

"Mediterranean Diet"                                    

This will bring back results that only use that exact phrase.