Search Techniques

How to find materials using the library searching tools

• If you know the name of person/persons who wrote it, then do Author Searching
• If you know the title or what it is called, then do Title Searching
• If you are looking for a topic or subject, then do Keyword Searching or Subject Search

 

Author Searching

• Enter the surname first, followed by a space and then the initial of the Author.
• Do not use capital letters, punctuations or accent marks. Eg, Do not type Charles Dickens but dickens c

 

Title Searching

• Do not type articles (a, an, the) as the first word in your search
• Do not use capital or punctuations Words of the title must be type in the correct order

 

Keyword Searching

Keyword searching may be the best way to start your search if you do not have a reading list or have no clue as to what materials to refer.

Keyword searching can help you locate relevant materials in the catalogue quickly. With keywords, you can:

1. Search relevant term to locate appropriate records
2. Look at the full display screen to determine the subject headings (Library of Congress Subject Heading) used and you can in turn search for the subject headings listed in order to locate more relevant materials

 

Subject Searching

All items catalogued are assigned subjects to describe the major topic of the items. The subjects used in the Library are based on the universal subject headings listing, ie the Library of Congress Subject Headings.

If you know the subject heading that the Library has used to describe an item, you will be able to find all the works the Library holds on a particular topic, irregardless of the different terms that the authors may have used. For example, different authors writing on teenagers may use terms like “teenagers”, “adolescents”, “youth”, “young people” but the Library uses the subject heading “teenagers” as prescribed in the “Library of Congress Subject Headings List” in the catalogue.

Notes:

If you do not know the subject headings used by the Library, it may be difficult for you to do a comprehensive search of a particular topic. The word order and spelling of the subject terms are crucial and there must be an exact match. You will have to use American spelling, eg. “labor” and not “labour”. To find correct Subject headings:

1. Do a Keyword search to find relevant materials. Select a relevant item and look at the Full display to view the Subject headings used. Use the given subject headings to locate other relevant materials.
2. Do a Subject search using your own choice of words. You may be automatically directed to the prescribed subject headings
3. Refer to the printed list of Library of Congress Subject Headings
4. Consult a Librarian

 

Understanding Reading List

Reading list are lists of suggested books, journal articles, book chapters or conference papers which will assist you in learning the subject you are studying. It is important to learn to understand Reading Lists in order to look for the item in the library.

 

Search strategy for reading list

Reading list are lists of suggested books, journal articles, book chapters or conference papers which will assist you in learning the subject you are studying. It is important to learn to understand Reading Lists in order to look for the item in the library.

Example of a reading list

1. Joines, F. (2024). Embracing technology in the early years: A practitioner’s guide. Routledge.
2. Promoting innovative activities through advanced management and fintech models. (2024). Journal of Management. https://doi.org/10.38104/vadyba.2024.2.01
3. Kaiser, S. B. (2023). Mixing metaphors in the fiber-textile-apparel complex: fashioning the future. In Ulasewicz, C., & Hethorn, J (Eds.), Sustainable fashion: take action. (third ed., pp. 69-86). Fairchild Books.
4. Wagner, H. J. (2020). Introduction to wind energy systems. In Cifarelli, L. and Wagner, F. (Eds.).  Joint EPS-SIF International School on Energy. Course 5 – “Energy: Where we stand and where we go” (Vol. 246, pp. 16). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202024600004

When you are doing the citation for your thesis book, you have to included the author’s work in your writing you must cite your source in the body of your paper by providing the last name(s) of the author(s), the year of publication and, where applicable, page number(s). Please check out for more info about the Referencing.