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Religion & Theology

Search Terms in Theology

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 -- narrow down your search terms by adding other aspects of your topic
  • Use synonyms or related words and search for those -- every time you change your search terms, you'll find different sources

Watch this video for more help developing keywords:

Note: If you get a lot of results about Martin Luther King Jr. and would prefer sources about or by Martin Luther, try adding one of these to your advanced search:

  • "Martin Luther" (adding quotations to his name)
  • NOT King (adding this phrase tells the database to remove results that contain the word King)
  • Put Martin Luther in author field

Using OneSearch to Find Sources

The library has a large collection of both print and ebooks on many theology-related topics. Use OneSearch to search for books. Try mixing and matching different search terms to find different results and select books from the menu on the left side.


Watch this video for more tips on searching OneSearch:

Related Research Guides

Check out these guides for more research help: