The Search Strategy Builder is a tool designed to teach you how to create a search string using Boolean logic. While it is not a database and is not designed to input a search, you should be able to cut and paste the results into most databases’ search boxes.
Now copy and paste the above Search String into Southern Search!
The Search Strategy Builder was developed by the University of Arizona Libraries and is used under a Creative Commons License, via Mandy Swygart-Hobaugh at Georgia State.
To find out what's available to you through Buley Library, use SouthernSearch. Always remember to log in first so the information in your results will be personalized. Once you've done a search, you can refine it based on Available at SCSU, Resource Type, Subject, Author, and more!
Let's see what Buley has on zombies...
5,718 results! Who knew? But that's too many to look through. We need to narrow it down. One way is to click on the Held by library option on the left-hand side, which will only show us things physically present in the library building. Let's try it...
There, that's better. Only 98 results now! Notice that each result tells you the item's Type (in this case they're all books), Title, Author, Publication Information, Availability, Location, and Call Number. If you want to narrow things down even more, you can use the Subject filter on the left. Confused? Ask a librarian!
SouthernSearch will tell you an item's location and call number, but how do you know which floor it's on? Check out the Buley Library Floorplan!
You can use SouthernSearch for ebooks, too! Just choose "Books" as your filter, and any results you see with Full Text Available or Online Access are ebooks!
To find content from encyclopedias and other reference sources, limit your results to Reference Entries under Resource Type (you may have to expand the list to see it).
If you want to find articles using SouthernSearch, choose "Articles" as your Resource Type on the left-hand side. Each result will tell you that it's an article, whether it's peer-reviewed, open access, and/or a review article, how to get it, and in the top right-hand corner how to cite it or save it to your library account (plus you can sometimes see articles that cite it and articles it cites!).
Sometimes your professors will require you to use only scholarly and/or peer reviewed sources. Scholarly sources are written for an academic audience and almost always include references to other works. Peer reviewed sources are scholarly sources that have been approved by other knowledgeable people in the field. Notice that SouthernSearch will let you limit to content from peer-reviewed journals!
Did you know that you can use a Google interface to search for scholarly articles? And that it will tell you when those articles are available through SCSU, both on campus and off? Just change your Library Links under Settings to Southern! Want more info? Click here.