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POLI 76: The Obama Presidency: Home

Searching for Sources Effectively

Follow the Bibliographic Trail: One proven method for gathering reliable information efficiently is to follow the citations or references from one source to another. The author's bibliography can lead you to other sources on the topic.

Identify Keywords: Before searching the Library Catalog or other databases, take a few minutes to write down all the words that describe your topic. Use these words in keyword or Boolean searches.

Subject Headings: If you find an interesting title in the Library Catalog, open the record and scroll down to alternate Subject Headings. Click on the link and it will take you to additional materials in the Library Catalog with the same subject/topic. 

Search Strategy Worksheet from Humboldt State University

Research Design & Support

Finding Books

Start with a keyword search in the catalog. Once you have located a relevant item, you can look at the Subjects in the record and follow those links to find related books.

You can also refine your results by using the facets on the left side of the screen.

Sample Subjects:

Terrorism and Obama presidency

Affordable Care Act

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Paris Climate Agreement

International activism

Political activism/Presidential campaign

DREAM Act

Third culture kid

Economic collapse 

Interlibrary Loan

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Can't find the article, book, or report you need at our library? You can request it from another library through interlibrary loan.

Librarian

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Joanneke Fleischauer
Contact:
919-962-3700