Library Research & Searching
Welcome
This page will walk you through some of the basic skills (and a few more advanced ones too!) that you will need to effectively and efficiently search using the library's resources. Some of the topics covered will include using the library's website, learning about the types of resources that we have available to you through Baylor Libraries, how to connect your search terms using Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT), and even how to include phrase searching, nesting, truncation, and wildcards in your search.
Explore the tabs to learn more!
Library Research & Searching Interactive Module
Below is a short module that covers some of the basics of library research and searching. In it, you will learn more about how to use the library's website, the types of resources that you can find online and in-print at the Baylor Libraries, and the basics of searching in a library database. The module is interactive and will require you to respond to questions as you work through the content.
Please reach out to Amy James, Online Librarian for Education & Information Literacy, if you have any questions.
- Concept Mapping & Keyword Generation WorksheetThe Library Research & Searching module above walks you through the process of concept mapping a topic. You can download this worksheet to help you create a concept map for your own topic.
Welcome
This page will walk you through some of the basic skills (and a few more advanced ones too!) that you will need to effectively and efficiently search using the library's resources. Some of the topics covered will include using the library's website, learning about the types of resources that we have available to you through Baylor Libraries, how to connect your search terms using Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT), and even how to include phrase searching, nesting, truncation, and wildcards in your search.
Explore the tabs below to learn more!
Using Boolean Operators to Connect Search Terms
This video explains the concept of using Boolean Operators to separate out search terms when you're searching in a library database. It includes descriptions and uses for the connector operators AND, OR, and NOT.
AND is an operator that will connect two search terms, phrases, or concepts. For example, a search for the terms college AND stress will bring you back items that contain both the word(s) college and the word(s) stress. Using AND will help you to get fewer results.
OR is an operator that will expand your results by showing you items that contain either one term, phrase, or concept OR another term, phrase, or concept. For example, a search for the terms college OR stress will bring you back items that contain the word college and items that contain the word stress. It will also bring back items that contain both the words college and stress.
NOT is an operator that tells the database to exclude a term, phrase, or concept. For example, if you want to exclude articles that talk about Covid-19 you could say NOT Covid-19.
Welcome
This page will walk you through some of the basic skills (and a few more advanced ones too!) that you will need to effectively and efficiently search using the library's resources. Some of the topics covered will include using the library's website, learning about the types of resources that we have available to you through Baylor Libraries, how to connect your search terms using Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT), and even how to include phrase searching, nesting, truncation, and wildcards in your search.
Explore the tabs below to learn more!
Learn the Basics of Advanced Searching
Watch this video to learn some of the more advanced searching skills, including how to build search strings, include phrase searching, nesting, truncation, and wildcards.
Nesting involves using parentheses to clarify search terms when using more than one Boolean operator. Nesting helps group synonyms.
EX: alcohol AND (teen OR teenager OR adolescent)
Phrase Searching narrows your search. Use quotation marks around a phrase when your search terms must be kept together in that exact order.
EX: "polar ice cap"
Truncation involves using special symbols within a search term to improve the quantity and quality of your search results. Be careful not to truncate too early in the word.
Wildcards use a symbol within a word to provide for all possible variations within that word.
EX: wom#n (results that use women OR woman)
Be sure to check the resources of the database to see which wildcard(s) it recognizes.
EX: educat* (returns results with the terms educate, educating, education, educational, educator, educators)
Welcome
This page will walk you through some of the basic skills (and a few more advanced ones too!) that you will need to effectively and efficiently search using the library's resources. Some of the topics covered will include using the library's website, learning about the types of resources that we have available to you through Baylor Libraries, how to connect your search terms using Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT), and even how to include phrase searching, nesting, truncation, and wildcards in your search.
Explore the tabs below to learn more!
Using OneSearch to Find Books, Articles, & More
This video walks you through how to use OneSearch from the library's homepage to search for books (both in-print and online), articles, and more.
Using LibKey Nomad
What is LibKey Nomad?
LibKey Nomad is a free browser extension that allows users to access full-text articles from library-subscribed journals, open access journals, and open access versions of articles with a single click. It works with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, and Vivaldi.
How does LibKey Nomad work?
Nomad works similarly to other LibKey technologies and uses the lightning fast LibKey API to perform its magic. When a scholarly publisher page loads, the extension quickly looks for the DOI of the article, compares it to your institutions holdings data and determines if you have a PDF available or a link to the article. If there isn’t immediate access, it will give you a way to easily request the through OsoFast. Additionally, it also checks on the status of the article to see if it is accessible in an open-access format. We utilize the unpaywall data set to aid with this process.
Do you need to create an account to access LibKey Nomad?
No! Nomad, like all of Third Iron technologies, is very privacy minded. There are no user accounts to create, the extension does not ask for or store your institutional user credentials and we do not run our scripts on any webpages other than those that are publisher pages as well as a few select domains such as PubMed and Wikipedia which have unique enhancements for each site.
How do you install LibKey Nomad?
Installation in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Brave & Vivaldi is simple! Just visit libkeynomad.com and click the icon for your browser. Your browser will then ask you to confirm. Choose your institution at the resulting LibKey interface and you are all set!
What do the LibKeyNomad labels mean?
Download PDF - In a single click, the user should either see a PDF on their screen or be prompted to download a PDF immediately. If authentication is required for the user, they will be prompted to sign in, turn on their VPN, etc as required. The PDF document is either coming directly from the publisher or is the publisher's version (according to unpaywall data) but held in a repository such as PubMed Central, EuroPMC or a university repository.
Article Link - The same as the above with the exception that the user will NOT see a PDF, they will see a web page which either has the full text in HTML or also has the PDF, but one more link is required to access it.
Manuscript PDF - The article has been found in the form of an Accepted Manuscript in a repository. While the content has been peer-reviewed it is unlikely to be formatted for publishing so may appear as an unformatted Word Document, etc. These documents never require authentication.
Manuscript Link - Same as the above, except one more click is required to get to the PDF, if the PDF is even available. No authentication is required.
Access Options... - This is an optional feature which requires the completion of the Access Options form. If the form is not complete for a library, this option is simply not shown for users (no button will appear at all). Most commonly, the library's link resolver will be able to be linked here, but we can also support unmediated/mediated document delivery instead, generating a link with the metadata to a specific address, etc. to suit the local institutional preference.
Provided By - This will appear as a non-clickable button on sites where Nomad is providing an Enhanced In-Line Integration (see link below for more information about these) as the download actions will appear within the context of the host service itself.
Enhanced In-line Integrations - LibKey also features some enhanced in-line integrations that are unique for certain platforms.
