Tips:
It is always a good idea to document your searches. Write down the terms used for a search and all the parameters, as it will keep you from repeating searches that have not given you the desired results. This is extremely important when using electronic databases and indexes as it will save you a tremendous amount of time. Remember that the terms you use are crucial to your searching success. If you are researching a particular time period, try and remember that the language of the time period may be different from terms used today. For example: if you were searching for African Americans in the 1950s the search term is probably Negro or Colored and later in the early 1960s it is Blacks and then it was Afro-Americans before it became African Americans. Likewise the term environment was not used in the late 19th or early 20th century, instead you may have to use irrigation, farming, etc. If you looked up gender roles in the 1950s or prior years, you may have to use the search terms: lady, female, women, men, gentlemen, etc. Limiting by date can be useful in finding primary sources. When you limit by year of publication, include a few extra years when searching. For example if you need materials from 1815 to 1860, you might want to search from 1815 to 1880, because the date of publication does not mean that it was written on that date, rather the date the item was published.
