LibGuides: World War II Database Project: Home

NoodleTools

NoodleTools
Noodletools is a student research platform with MLA, APA and Chicago/Turabian bibliographies, notecards, outlining. Every student has access to a Noodletools account, that assists with collecting resources, creating bibliographies, and designing outlines.

User access instructions: click login, then “sign in with Google” to log in with your FCS email account. New users should select “create an account”, while previous Noodletools users can sync up their previous Noodletools account info if prompted.

Citation Guides by Style

Remote Database Passwords

Please click HERE to access the usernames and passwords for our databases.

**NOTE: You must be signed in to your FCS email and password to access the Google Document- if you receive an error message, please sign out of your personal email and sign in using your FCS email address.

The following databases are only available on-campus:

POWERLibrary

Access Science

ProQuest

ProQuest This link opens in a new window
ProQuest contains historical newspapers and can be accessed on or off campus.
Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Times Digital Archive contains every page of the London Times, as published, from 1785 to 1985.

Keyword Search Strategies

Keyword Search Tips

When searching for resources on a database, it is a good idea to try a variety of search terms (keywords) and phrases. If you only browse the results of your first search attempt, you will probably be disappointed -- your first search may have too few, too many, or irrelevant results.

Generating Keywords: Here is one strategy you can try when you begin searching for good sources.

Identify your research topic/thesis statement.
1. (Ex: If the long-term effects of e-cigarette and vape use are unknown, how will lawmakers craft legislation designed to protect the public from harm?)
Generate keywords from the main ideas/concepts within your topic.
1. (E-cigarettes, tobacco, vaping, public health)
Expand upon these keywords even more by brainstorming related terms or synonyms that describe your topic.
1. (Lung disease, lung injury, respiratory, smoking, nicotine, addiction, risk, second-hand exposure, toxicity)
Conduct multiple searches made up of keyword combinations.

This will provide you with a wider range of sources to choose from.

Keyword searches may even yield too many search results. If this happens, you can use the limiters (AKA filters) to narrow down your search (look on the left hand side of the database for limiters/filters such as "document type," "publication date," or "subject").

Boolean Search Tips

Series of three venn diagrams illustrating the different results retrieved by searches using Boolean Operators AND, OR, NOT.

Boolean Searching: A search technique that uses Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) to limit or widen your search.

Boolean operators define the relationship between your search terms, allowing you to refine and focus your results.

AND narrows your results by linking two terms together
OR widens your results by bringing up results that have one term or another
NOT restricts your search by excluding the term directly following it - it's a great operator to use if your search is retrieving a lot of irrelevant results

https://guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=563215&p=3877584