1) Search for the resource the library website www.library.utoronto.ca

• Be aware that new LibrarySearch interface will arrive in 2021. Learn more from the LibrarySearch Tips Guide 

2) If using Google Scholar, set your web browser to recognize you as a UofT Student

• Go to Settings - Library links – Choose ‘University of Toronto Libraries’
• Full instructions to set up Google Scholar to prompt your UTORID 

3) Seek help if you still have access issues.

Day of ...	Week of ...	Week after ...	Months after ...	Year after & later
Social Media TV News Web-based News	Newspapers Web-based News	Popular Magazines Some Trade Magazines	Academic and scholarly journals Some Trade Magazines	Books Government Reports Reference Collections

Think about the different types of information these sources 

• Immediate response
• First person accounts
• Commentary from experts, organizations, or general public
• In-depth research (overview or very specific aspects)
• Brief overview of a topic 
• Images, Figures or Tables of Data

Choosing Keywords for your Search

Think of the language that will be the most effective for your search and keep track of keywords (search terms) that produce the best results. Ask yourself: 

• Will your topic be discussed in the news using scholarly language or would other terminology be more effective?
• Has the terminology changed over time or based on location? 

How to Choose Keywords (UTSC Library) 

 

Transcript avaiable for Library 101 - How to Choose Keywords

Building your Search Strategies

Some databases allow you to enter search terms on separate lines (e.g., enter a keyword the top line and researcher or activist's last name below, so as to articulate your search request)

Using Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) and Boolean Modifiers (quotation marks, asterisk, parentheses) allows you to widen or narrow the search for your keywords and target your research topic: 

How to use Boolean Operators (UTSC Library)

 

Transcript Available for Library 101 - Boolean Operators

 

AND (narrows your search)

• "writing technique"  AND Canad* AND poet* 
• "university students"  AND "marketing strategy" 
• "social media"  AND Canad* 

OR (widens your search)

Watch out for US vs Canadian Spelling, synonyms, acronyms

• neighbourhood OR neighborhood  
• (COVID-19 OR  COVID OR "Corona Virus") AND (questionnaire OR survey OR "focus groups")  
  • Use brackets to create separate groups of actions in your search.
• snapchat OR "Instagram Stories" OR "Instagram Story"

NOT (narrows your search by excluding keyword)

Use only when you need to remove topics that overwhelm your search results

• Stress NOT post-traumatic stress  
• (writing OR authorship) NOT criticism

 

Boolean Modifiers (UTSC Library)

 

Transcript available for Library 101 - Boolean Modifiers 

 

Quotations marks (narrows your search)

Search for specific phrases or names or different spellings e.g., hyphens

• "creative writing", "literary non-fiction", "short story" 
• "social media" OR Instagram
• "employee engagement" OR  "employee-engagement" 

Asterisk * (widens your search)

Be aware that this doesn't work in certain databases.

• institut* = institutions, institution's, institutitional
• Canad* = Canada, Canada's, Canadians, Canadian, Canadiana

Brackets (instructs the database on targeting the keywords in your search phrase)

Use only when you need to remove topics that overwhelm your search results

•  (Universit* OR College) AND "student life" NOT (academic OR faculty) 

A topic search uses the full item record to figure out how that item is described by the library. You can then use that linked-description to find items on the same subject. 

First search by keyword:

Next choose the most relevant result and open the full record by clicking the title:

Once you have opened the full record, scroll down to the "Details" section:

There is a lot of information in this section, but the part you need is next to the heading "Subject":

 

Of the four subjects assigned to this book, "Women video gamers" is probably the closest to the topic of women and gaming. To view other items assigned the same subject, just click Women video gamers and a new set of search results will appear that are all assigned the same topic phrase.

Also look at the subjects assigned to the new results. You may find a related subject that fits even more closely with your topic. For instance, the book highlighted in the following image is described with the subject "Women video gamers", but also the subjects: 

Video games -- Social aspects -- Women
Computer games -- Social aspects -- Women
Video games industry -- Social aspects -- Women