Q. What if I get too many results in my search?

Whether you're using SouthernSearch, a library database, or Google, if you get too many results to go through in a lifetime, the key is to add more detail to your initial search so you get fewer results.

Let's say you searched for "nursing." That means you're going to get every single thing that search engine can find with the word "nursing" in it. If you're actually interested in perinatal nursing, then say so! If you want to know about nursing and finance, or nursing and computers, or nursing and education, then that's what you should ask for. If you need only information that's been published in the last five years, then make sure you tell the search engine that (almost every database or search engine has ways to limit based on date, etc., usually on the left-hand side of the screen after you've done your initial search).

If you find yourself getting frustrated, you can make an appointment with a librarian to figure out what's going wrong.