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ENG 111 & EDE (WO)

Narrowing Your Results

Get fewer (but better) results by:

1. Using a good search strategy and specific keywords.
2. Filtering your results.

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Box 1:
Availability
Online or Physical?


Box 2:
Resource Type
Book or Audio Visual?


Box 3:
Library
Which Campus?

Box 4:
Publication Date

                                           

Finding a Book on the Shelf

Targeted Reading

Save yourself time.  Do targeted reading.

Use the table of contents and index.

Table of contents and index

Use the table of contents to identify parts of the book that cover your topic. Chapter 2 is good if you want information on pesticides. Chapter 7 has info on making organic food choices.

The index tells you anywhere in the book that a topic is discussed. In the example above, chicken meat and chickens are discussed on pages 74-75, 110, 112-114 and 162. The certified organic label is a big topic, so the index breaks it down - federal standards, state standards, USDA labeling, etc. This helps you find exactly what you need quickly. The index also tells us to "see also" organic certification.