Horticulture

Database Searching Tips

Database searching is different from Google searching.

  • Break your topic into key words or phrases
    • Combine with AND to get fewer results (soil AND worms)
    • Combine with OR to get more results (soil OR dirt)
  • Try different searches using a different combination of your words and phrases
  • As you skim your results look for new words, phrases, and ideas that relate to your topic
  • Keep trying! Searching often takes time and requires trying multiple searches in a few different databases
  • Ask for help

When searching in databases you can use limits (normally on the left or right of your search results page) to focus on specific formats, publication years, etc.

Databases

Search these Horticulture databases for journal articles.  For a complete list of databases, go to https://lib.colostate.edu/databases/

Searching for Articles in a Specific Journal

Sometimes you may want to search for articles on a topic or subject, but also limit by journal. For example, you may just want articles about food webs in the journal: Ecological Monographs.

The search example below is from CAB Abstracts. To limit your search to journal articles from the journal: Ecological Monographs, you type in the journal name then in the right hand box, select SO Source:

 

In Web of Science, the search looks very similar (click on "add another field" to add more lines):