Resources for International Students

How do I search in Summon?

To begin finding articles on your topic, learn how to search in Summon.

Summon provides one search box to find articles from numerous library databases.  Summon also searches for books, DVDs and government documents.  

For more ways to narrow your search results in Summon, watch this:

What if I don't find what I need in Summon?

If the Summon results are overwhelming, it might be helpful to search in subject-specific databases.  On the Libraries' homepage there is a link to Databases by Subject.  

Or, if there is a specific database that you would like to search, like ERIC or PsycINFO, use the Databases A-Z link.  

Database Searching: Basic

UNC databases do not look the same and they each have special features.  The common way to search each database is by keyword.  Below are a few tip to keyword searching in a general database, Academic Search Premier.

Keyword Searching Tips

• Use your main terms rather than asking questions or full sentences.
• Use quotation marks around a phrase or set of terms ("death penalty" rather than death penalty).
• If you have too many results, use limiters such as date of publication.
• If you have too few results, try changing your keywords to synonyms, or removing any limiters.
• Avoid checking the Full Text limiter.  An article may be in full text in another database, and you will be linked to the full text.

Database Searching: Advanced

Each database has different limiters, but the common ones are Date of Publication and Type of Publication.  Limiters allow you to focus your search and exclude unwanted information.  Limiters are very useful if you have an overwhelming number of results.