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World History: Research Databases

Primary Sources

Secondary/Scholarly Sources

Database Search Tips

> Quotation Marks

Use quotation marks to combine multiple words into a single phrase or concept when searching.

Example: "silk road"

> Boolean Operators: AND

Connect key terms with AND to specify you want resources that include all listed terms.

Example: "silk road" AND religion

> Boolean Operator: OR

Add synonyms or related terms to your search to expand your resource pool.

Synonym Example: trade OR commerce

Related Term Example: data OR information OR documentation OR records

> Parentheses

Enclose related terms and synonyms in parentheses to specify that the database should parse them as a single unit.

Example: (trade OR commerce) AND "silk road"