This research guide has been created specifically for the BOOST program. This guide will help you use Omni to find articles and books for the BOOST Worksheet activity.
There are many types of academic sources that you may need to find for your assignments, including peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book chapters and more.
Find out more about scholarly sources:
Look for the Omni search box on the library website: https://brocku.ca/library.
Click on Advanced Search.
Use the rows to enter keywords from your search strategy. Think of each concept as being its own row or line. Remember, use the OR operator to link synonyms together (relationships OR friendships). Use the AND operator in the drop down menu to link different concepts (rows) together (social media AND relationships); and, use quotation marks (" ") to search for specific phrases ("social media").
Add new rows for additional concepts.
Review your results. Use the filters on the left hand side of the screen to narrow your results by resource type, publication date, and subject matter.
You can always edit your search phrase to include additional key concepts. Remember that the research process is iterative—this means you'll often have to revise your search multiple times. That's totally normal.
To see the peer-reviewed journal articles in your list of results, select Peer-reviewed Journals under Availability in the Modify your results section on the left side of your screen.
Once you've found an article that looks promising, click on the title and you'll be presented with a lot of information. To access the article, simply click click on one of the available links.
To see the books and book chapters (include ebooks) in your list of results, select Book Chapters and Books & eBooks under Resource Type in the Modify your results section on the left side of your screen.
Books and book chapters may be available online or in print in the Brock University Library.
See Borrow from Brock Library for more information on borrowing books.
New to research? Learn the basics of library research by completing the Library Research Fundamentals tutorial.