Strategies for Searching

When looking at Diversity as a topic, you will get better results if you get more specific. For example, searching <Diversity in Sports> is super-broad and may net you several hundred-thousand results, while <Autism in Sports> is very specific and may return only several hundred results..

Play around with phrase searching. This is where you put two or more words in quotes, which tells the search engine that you want it to find the exact phrase. Searching "Black Women" will get you different results than just searching Black Women. Longer phrases may not work well in some search engines/databases, especially if you use super-common connector words such as "the," "in," "of," etc. Many search engines ignore those words, and instead will replace them with any other term. 

Think about the information that you want to retrieve, and try to get as specific as you can to better your search results. Below are some suggested terms to use while searching.

Search Terms

"Diversity" as a term can be and has been used in a variety of contexts. Focus on the aspects of diversity education that you want to learn about. 

  • Best Practices
  • Conflict Management
  • Cultural Competence
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Cultural Humility
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Diversity in the Workplace
  • Diversity Training
  • Diversity Workshops
  • Intergroup Dialogue
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Prejudice Reduction
  • Social Justice Education
  • What Works
  • Workplace

You can also add some phrases into your search to help get more specific results, such as adding "Best Practices" to a search on "Diversity in the Workplace" will get you results where the phrase "Best Practices" was used.

Subject Headings

Journal Article Databases and library catalogues are built from a similar system of "controlled vocabulary" (a set dictionary of topic terms that are assigned to individual articles or books). These terms from the Library of Congress Subject Headings may help you in determining the best words to search. Click on the links to immediately search the library catalogue for books on this topic. 

Note: Each database has its own "controlled vocabulary" so look at the Subjects assigned to an article to find even more interesting language to use in your search!

How to Evaluate the Information Sources You Find

Evaluating the authority, usefulness, and reliability of the information you find is a crucial step in the process of library research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, multimedia titles, or Web pages are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item, a physical item in hand, or an electronic version on a computer.

All Sources

Critically Analyzing Information Sources lists some of the questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.

Evaluating Books

Use book reviews to gather critical information about books. Three quick ways to access them online [Cornell users only]:

More sources for book reviews --Book Reviews: A Finding Guide.

Evaluating Periodicals

  • Distinguishing Scholarly from Other Periodicals shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience, and appearance.
  • Magazines for Libraries. Cheryl LaGuardia, editor. Annual New York: Bowker.
    Call number: Uris Library Stacks Z 6941 .K21 +. The latest edition is shelved near the Olin Reference desk
    Evaluations of journals, magazines, and newspapers. Earlier editions in the Uris Library Stacks.

Evaluating Data Sources

"Become Data Literate in 3 Simple Steps" shows how to evaluate the numbers used in articles, books, and the media.

Source: Understanding Data, Chapter 6 in The Data Journalism Handbook, Version 1.0 beta online.

Evaluating Web Sites

Evaluating Resources is an excellent guide from the UC Berkeley Library.