What should I type in the search box?

If you are searching for a book in the catalog or for an article in an index you need to tell the database what you want. This is called constructing a search .
Think about what you need. Do you need material on a very specific subject or are you looking for something more general? Do you need journal articles, book reviews, statistical reports? Do you have an particular author or resource in mind? These are all considerations for getting the results you need.
Let's take a look at an example. You need to find out what the Truman Administration did with regard to civil rights. You begin by looking in the Curry Library Online Catalog.
We might want to do a keyword search or a subject search. The default search in the catalog is keyword so let's start there. In the search box type in Truman and (Civil Rights). Put brackets around civil rights so that those words will be searched as a phrase.
After finding the materials in the catalog you might want to go to the Web Indexes and Databases page to find articles. Simply transfer your search to the search box in the index and see if those results satisfy what you are looking for. You may need to tweek your search terms a bit but this is the general idea.
If you need some help please let us know at ext. 5087 or reference@william.jewell.edu.