Boolean Operators
Boolean operators are words or symbols that are used in conjunction with words to refine searches.
Here are six helpful ones to use:
- AND - narrows
- Ex: ADHD and boys (this narrows down our results to only include ADHD and boys)
- NOT - excludes
- Ex: ADHD not boys (this narrows down our results to include things about ADHD excluding those that mention boys)
- OR - expands
- Ex: boys or males or guy (this expands our our search to search for multiple possible terms)
- * - expands
- Ex: rac* (using the asterisk in replace of an ending on a word will expand your search to include results that have any ending on the base word.)
- " " - exact phrase
- Ex: "executive functioning" (this pulls up results that are stated in the item exactly as written)
- ( ) - confine
- Ex: (ADHD or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) AND (boys or guys or males) - (this will instruct the database or search engine on what parts go together in your search phrase
Finding Print & Electronic Books from Milne Library
Library Catalog is commonly used to search the physical collections of the James M. Milne Library, including ebooks, by an author’s name or a book’s title. You may also use keywords to search the library catalog, which contains the table of contents for many records. Subject headings are included in keyword searching and are assigned to all library catalog holdings.
Finding Scholarly Articles
Electronic articles can be searched through our databases. There are some general databases and some subject specific databases. To access the databases, click on the database tab on the library homepage. You can then browse through them alphabetically, or browse by discipline (i.e., history, mathematics, etc.)
If you find an article that is not accessible through our library, you can use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to request it from another library.
Below you will find a list of databases that will be helpful for your assigned papers. It is not an exhaustive list, but it is a good place to start.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowFull text for about 8,500 periodicals including over 7,300 peer-reviewed journals across most areas of academic study as well as indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 magazines and journals. Coverage is from 1887 to the present.
- America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new windowCovers the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Selective indexing of about 1700 journals from 1955 to the present. Offers full-text for about 200 journals.
- Google ScholarIncludes most peer-reviewed online journals from the largest scholarly publishers as well as scholarly books and non-peer reviewed journals. Links to full-text due to Milne Library subscriptions. A useful feature is the ability to see who cited an article.
- Historical Abstracts with Full TextCovers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, and the history of education. Indexing and abstracts for about 1800 journals; full-text for about 350 journals. Coverage is from 1955 to the present.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull-text of over 1400 core scholarly journals and Books across most subject areas.
Can be used for course content: Titles from many university presses and other academic publishers - MathSciNet2.7 million publications, 600,000 authors, 1900 journals with 1.4 million articles, 5.4 million matched citations.
- ScienceDirect This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text access to journals in the fields of science, psychology, medicine, and technology.
Finding Print Books from Other Libraries
WorldCat is a global catalog of over 10,000 library collections. You can use WorldCat to find print books that Milne Library doesn't own, and request them using our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service.
Finding Streaming Videos
- Academic Video Online (VAST) This link opens in a new windowA multidisciplinary collection of streaming video, covering history, anthropology, education, art, diversity studies, business, music, literature, performing arts, psychology, counseling, science, world languages and more. Includes access to Broadway HD content. For additional videos, see Films on Demand.
Can be used for course content: Excellent multidisciplinary streaming video collections. - Academic Video Online (VAST) This link opens in a new windowA multidisciplinary collection of streaming video, covering history, anthropology, education, art, diversity studies, business, music, literature, performing arts, psychology, counseling, science, world languages and more. Includes access to Broadway HD content. For additional videos, see Films on Demand.
Can be used for course content: Excellent multidisciplinary streaming video collections. - Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowContains about 8000 full-length programs and 90,000 streaming video segments in the humanities, social sciences, business, economics, medicine, mathematics, and sciences from producers including Cambridge Educational, BBC, CNBC, National Geographic, TEDTalks, and PBS. For additional videos, see VAST (Academic Videos Online).
Can be used for course content: Streaming video collections. - Kanopy This link opens in a new windowKanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform for public and academic libraries that offers films, TV shows and documentaries.