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InfoSkills for Social and Behavioral Sciences

InfoSkills @ TiU

2.6. Applying limits & Refining results

Limits

Limits let you narrow the focus of your search so that the information retrieved from the database is limited according to the values you select. In some databases, limits are only available on the Advanced Search page. 

Limiters can be applied at the beginning of your search by selecting options from the Limits section, as illustrated below.

One of the limits you can choose is "Full text" . We advise not using this option. Some records may only include publication details and an abstract, without the full text, but the full text might still be available through the TiU library. In such cases, the TiUfinder link will be displayed.

A useful limit when searching for scholarly articles is "Peer reviewed" . Under Publication date , you can specify which years you want to include in your search. At the bottom of the limits menu, you’ll find options for "Source type," "Document type," and "Language" .

Refining results 

Once you've performed a search, you can further refine your results by applying limits – often referred to as filters. In some databases, these filtering options are only available on the Advanced Search page. 

Some common limits you can use are:

  • Publication date 
  • Source type
    • Scholarly journals
    • Newspapers
    • Trade journals
    • Dissertations
    • Working papers
    • Books
    • Book chapters
    • ...
  • Subject
  • Publication / Source (e.g., journal title) 
  • Language

Don’t check “Full text”; this may exclude results that are actually accessible through the TiU library.

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