Research Strategies
Keep variant spellings in mind when searching Orbis and the library databases.
Putting a search term in quotation marks; e.g., "Robert Adam", will search that exact term.
Consider using alternate search terms such as:
"Abbey", "Castle", "Court", "Fort" "Hall", "House", "Manor", "Palace", "Park", "Place", "Tower"
Truncate your searches if possible. If you use truncation, which almost every index allows (look to see if it is *, #, ?, or some other symbol), you will gather more results and save searching time. For example, searching feudal* searches two terms at once: feudal and feudalism.
Browse the Stacks - When you have located a book from the reccomended book lists of this guide or directly from Orbis try browsing in the stacks. This can sometimes help you find resources that you didn't realize you needed.
Use Bibliographies - Don’t forget to use the bibliographies and footnotes found in the books and articles you are using. They can often point you to other resources of interest.
Use the Vertifical Files - In Orbis these files are marked with a “V” with a series of numbers following. These useful files are stored behind the Reference desk. There are many pamphlets, brochures, research papers, etc. that could pertain to your research.
Can't find what you need?
Can't find a book or article at Yale? Use our free Interlibrary Loan service and we'll get it for you from another library.
Search WorldCat for books in other libraries. Use the "Borrow this item from another library (Interlibrary Loan)" link to get books from other libraries.
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