These databases can be used to find scholarly articles. They are broken down into general and specific sub-topics. In the four boxes to the right, you will find helpful tips to expand your search and find more articles.
General Databases with Ancient History Content
Subject Specific Databases Useful for Ancient History
Literature and Drama Criticism, Including Ancient Texts
What if you need to find multiple forms of the same word? For example:
teen
teens
teenaged
teenager
teenagers
To do this use truncation, also known as stemming or wildcarding.
Truncation uses a symbol, usually an asterisk (*), to substitute for all the letters that might follow a word stem.
Example:
teen*
finds all the word forms above.
How do keyword searches work? There are three basic operations, involving Boolean logic. Boolean operators to tell the computer whether you want to:
Today, most databases automatically search for all the keywords you typed (AND), because it's the most common and useful way to narrow a search.
But you may still encounter some advanced search forms that require you to use Boolean operators. Advanced search forms usually will display a choice of operators, so that you can see them at work.
Practiced searchers can also construct their own Boolean search statements. Remember that they are mathematical statements, not normal sentences, and have special syntax rules. If you combine AND and OR in a search, you must put parentheses around the OR terms.
Example:
(smoking or cigarettes or tobacco) and (teens or adolescents) and legislation
Most search automatically look for all the keywords you enter. But they don't have to be in any particular order, or next to each other.
But what if you really need to find a phrase--multiple words that mean something specific when you put them together?
Generally, put your keywords inside quotation marks to search for them as an exact phrase: those words, in that order, next to each other.
Examples of phrase searching:
"obsessive compulsive disorder"
"academic achievement"
"animal rights"
"business planning"
You can combine Boolean operators, phrase searches, and trucation, but you must very precise with the syntax and punctuation!
Here's an example:
(drink* or alcohol) and (teen* or adolescents) and "academic achievement"