Agribusiness

Database providers continuously strive to streamline the research process, so it’s worth your time to check the databases' Help links to see if any changes have been made to the search functions.  Before you even begin searching a database, consider these steps for creating a list of relevant words and terms:
 

• What do you want to know?  Try to state your information need in a sentence, question, or phrase:

 What impact does runoff water have on the environment?

• ​Identify the key terms in your initial question or sentence:

​impact
runoff water
environment

• Think of other words that could describe your topic.  This is where reading general information from encyclopedias, for example, would be helpful.   Search the Library catalog for your topic and encyclopedias (i.e. ethics AND encyclopedias). You could also consult a thesaurus.

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• Use Boolean operators* (AND, OR) to combine synonymous terms: