Introduction to Africana Studies

Librarians at the Lloyd Sealy Library are available for research support through the following methods;

• Library Hours: Check the full calendar for current hours.
• Ask a Librarian: Get help via live chat, email, or phone.
• Reserve a Study Room: Book a space to study with a group.
• Access to News: Read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

1. Use Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine your keywords.

• "AND" narrows the search by connecting all the keywords
  • For example, "dogs" AND "cats" AND "pets" would give you results that mention all three keywords.
• "OR" broadens the search by including results that have both keywords
  • For example, "COVID-19" OR "coronavirus" (two synonyms) would give you results for both terms
• NOT excludes specific words from your search. You should limit the use, but it's good for when words have multiple meanings. 
  • For example,  "jaguar" NOT "car"  results about the animal while excluding the cars/automobiles. 

2.  Use filters to limit results to peer-reviewed articles.

3.  Adjust the publication date filter to find the most recent research.

4.  Look at the subject headings in relevant articles to find new keywords.

5.  Use the "Cited By" or "Find Similar" tools to discover related research