Searching PHS’s Catalog &
Databases & the Internet
Basic Research:
-Try using the encyclopedias for
beginning research on a topic for
background information
-When using subject encyclopedias and
books/reference materials that include a
lot of general information look for the
table of contents or the index, in the
back or front of the book to help locate
your specific topic or keyword
Keywords-if you can’t find it using a
specific word or phrase, think of what
other KEY word it might fall in to
http://libcat.cityofportsmouth.com/
For example, if you are searching for a
person or event and cannot find it, try
searching the keyword that is the
UMBRELLA for the person or event
you are trying to find. Cannot find Bill
Gates in our database? Try inventions
or computers and we are sure to have
books on that topic with Bill Gates in it.
Searching the internet-ways to utilize
a search engine
What is a Boolean Search/Operator?
AND example: Portland and Oregon
OR example: liberal or democrat (like synonyms)
NOT example: Oregon not travel
New York Times Google SearchNYT uses the Google search engine to search their own site,
not outside the NYT site www.nytimes.com
The Google search allows more results, boolean searching,
book searches, scholar (journal articles), patents, images, blog
searches etc. And the results pages are collected by popularity
--100s of factors such as the ones mentioned above are
included in the Google searching
Primary, Secondary &
Tertiary Sources
Primary SourcesInformation/documents created
during the time period the event
occurred or the person lived
Examples: legal documents,
speeches, diaries, interviews, etc.
Secondary Sources
 Secondary sources are accounts written
after the fact. They are evaluations or
interpretations of primary sources.
Examples include magazine articles,
newspapers, journal articles, etc.
Tertiary Sources
 Tertiary sources are information that is
collected from primary and secondary
sources in the format of almanacs,
bibliographies, chronologies, dictionaries,
encyclopedias, directories, fact books,
guidebooks, manuals, etc.
Business Examples of Primary,
Secondary & Tertiary Sources
 Google Example
Primar Second Tertiary
y
ary Source
Source Source
Origina Wall
Gale
Databases
http://portsmouthhighschoolli
brary.wikispaces.com/
*Ebscohost most other databases have
Primary Sources and many public and
academic libraries have these sources or
access to them as well
We have access to 17 databases! Plus
eBooks! 
Works Cited:
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/G
uides/Internet/SearchEngines.html
http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/prima
ry-sources.html#tertiary
University Libraries of University of
Maryland