Search Techniques

About the Tutorial

This tutorial is intended to guide Nursing students at ODU in finding information they need for courses, as well as for possible research after graduation.  Performing a comprehensive search to locate journal articles, books, and other materials has never been an easy task.  And, now, with the information explosion, it can be even more difficult unless you learn how to take advantage of the wealth of electronic resources available.  That's what this tutorial is all about.

It may take 3-4 hours to complete the entire tutorial, depending on your skills and knowledge. Feel free to come and go as needed. The exercises and quizzes are there to reinforce what you've learned.  No one else sees the results.  At the beginning of the tutorial is a "tour" of the library's website to help those of you who are unfamiliar with where to find the library's resources and services.  There is also a separate section on search techniques that you can apply whether you are searching for books in the online catalog or citations to journal articles in an electronic database. 

The tutorial was originally developed by Karen Vaughan, Digital Services Coordinator at Perry Library, with the assistance of Kay Palmer.  It was updated by Renee Davis, Science and Technology Reference Librarian, in 2005, and then again by Karen Vaughan in Fall 2009.