American Culture and Ethnic Studies: Why can't I find anything?

It's not uncommon encounter problems while searching.  If you need overall tips on how to use databases, try the "How to Talk to Databases" box below.  To understand how information gets into circulation, try the slideshow below in the "Flow of Information" box.  Search results too many or too few - try the boxes to the left.  

Good luck!

If you find that you need more help, click on the Ask Us! tab to find your best option.

Believe it or not, there is an elaborate cycle of information production. Any major event initiaties years' worth of information output. The best way for you as a new student at BGSU to learn about academic library research is to understand how information is produced.

View the following tutorial to get a handle on how information is generated after an event occurs. If the slides are moving too fast or too slow for you, use the left and right buttons to navigate instead of the "play" button. You can also click on the slideshow button  to view a larger version.

(Conceptual credit for the "Flow of Information" goes to Sharon Hogan, as adapted by Diane Zwemer for UCLA library instruction.)

Thus, we recommend that you:

• carefully select the key concepts from your research question and combine those as keywords to search in a database
• use the worksheet labeled 'generating and combining keywords' below to brainstorm search terms