LIFE212-Introductory Cell Biology Laboratory (Safadi-Chamberlain)
Searching Library Databases
1. Think about your search strategy. This will save you time in the long run. Databases look for words and phrases, not concepts - your search is making assumptions about what words MUST appear in articles about your topic. Articles might be about your topic but not contain your words, so you have to logically anticipate what you may be missing and try different searches. Here are some sample search terms:
Fluorescence microscopy project:
- "fluorescence microscopy"
- microscopy
- cell structure
- cytoskeleton
- actin
- microtubule*
- fluorophore*
- tubulin
- nucleus/nuclei
- nocodazole
- "actin filaments"
- phalloidin
- immunohystochemistry
- "Latrunculin A or B"
- cytoskeletal structure
- fluorescent stains
- fluorescent dyes
2. Use Boolean logic to join your search terms. (These work in most databases.) Make sure you put parentheses () around OR statements so it knows what operation to do first.
Search Term |
What it does |
Example |
---|---|---|
AND |
|
enzymes AND kinetics |
OR |
|
enzymes OR kinetics |
NOT |
|
enzymes NOT kinetics |
* |
Placing an asterisk at the end of a word will find all variations of the word. This is called a truncator or wildcard. |
enzym* retrieves:
|
" " |
To search for a phrase or title, put the words in quotes. |
"enzyme kinetics" |
Search Strategy Tutorials
Explore these quick tutorials to learn various search tips.
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