BIO 300: Microbiology

OneSearch is a good place to start your research and allows you to find books, peer-reviewed articles, videos, and other library resources—all in one place. After you search, you can use filters to narrow your search.

Watch this video to learn how to search OneSearch more effectively.

Peer-Reviewed articles are included in OneSearch and most library databases. You can narrow your search to only include articles in peer-reviewed journals.

To limit to peer-reviewed articles in OneSearch select "Peer-reviewed Journals" from the Availability menu on the left. Other databases have similar filters.

Library databases each contain and search different resources and are more focused than OneSearch. Use these databases to find sources for your assignments. Not sure which one to use? Ask a librarian and we'll be happy to help you choose the right one!

The words you use to search make a difference when searching in library databases. Use these tips to help you find sources more quickly:

• Don't search for an entire research question -- pick the main keywords and search for those.
• Alternatively, don't search for a single concept (i.e., bacteria) -- this is too big. Narrow it by adding words for other aspects of your topic.
• Try synonyms or related words  -- every time you change your search terms, you'll find different sources.
•  You might need to use common names and scientific names -- either one may get you different sources.

For example:

• phagocytosis AND infections
• Agrobacterium rhizogenes AND transgenic hairy roots
• microbiota OR microbiome
• echinacea OR coneflower

 Mix and match different combinations of keywords to get different results when searching. 

Watch this video for more help on brainstorming keywords: