Phrases
Enclose phrases in " " to find all words together.
"United States"
"body image"
"gun control"
Shorten search terms
Shorten search terms and add a * to retrieve singular, plural, and variant spellings.
advertis*
retrieves advertise, advertisers, advertising, advertisement, advertisements
Use limits
Most databases will allow you to apply limits to your searches and results, such as publication date, source type, scholarly, etc.
Search multiple databases
Try your search in more than one database. Ebsco will let you search multiple databases simultaneously. Look for "choose databases" above the search box. In ProQuest, use the "change databases" link in the banner to select multiple databases to search.