Discovery is the Library's one-search experience. Find articles, books, films, music and more!
Peer-reviewed is the highest level of academic or scholarly publishing. The quality of the articles is maintained through a review process conducted by experts prior to publication. Not all academic journals are peer-reviewed, but all peer-reviewed journals are academic.
Articles submitted to a refereed or peer-reviewed journal are examined by one or more people with expertise in the field with which the article deals. This process gives the scholartic community assurance that the information in the article is credible and original. Some disciplines require peer-reviewed status more than others.
On this page, you can get help with the following question:
Keywords are the words that you use to search. Good keywords for library database searching represent the most important words or ideas related to a topic.
You can come up with a list of keywords by looking at your research question and circling or writing down the most important words. If you are working with a PICO research question, you can simply identity the population, intervention, outcome and control/comparison.
Example Research Question: "How does the use of exercise compare to medication in reducing anxiety in elderly women?" For this research question, the PICO elements and initial keywords are:
Watch the video below to learn more, including:
Once you've identified the PICO elements in your question, you can start creating a list of synonyms you could use for searching.
| P | I | C | O | |
| Keywords | elderly women | exercise | medication | reducing anxiety |
| Synonyms & alternative words | older women | physical activity, physical exertion, active lifestyle, walking, hiking, moderate intensity exercise, strength training, yoga | Benzodiazepines | treatment of anxiety, anxiety treatment, anxiety, management of anxiety |
As you search for sources using your keywords, take note of the terminology used by authors to write about your topic. Add new keywords to your list and try adjusting your searches using the keywords you see in articles and books on your topic.
When looking for health research specifically, it can be helpful to search within specific health databases. These databases contain only journal articles from health-related fields.
Before You Begin - A Checklist
To successfully find information you will need:
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Strategy |
Example |
| Use "quotation marks" for exact-phrase searching |
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| Search for keywords within specific fields - use the drop-down list beside the search box. |
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| Use suggested topics, subjects and thesaurus terms for more refined searching | |
| Use the available limiter options (left side of results page) |
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| Use narrower keywords |
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| Check "Books & Media" to find just books, ebooks and media |
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Strategy |
Example |
| Use "OR" to look for versions of the same concept (synonyms, related words) |
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| Use * [shift+8] after a word's root to search all endings |
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| Use broader keywords |
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| Uncheck “CapU Library Collections and Subscriptions” in Discovery |
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If you find an item we don't have, get it via interlibrary loan.
Many CapU Library online resources (databases, electronic books) want to authenticate you to ensure you're a CapU student before giving you access. When you try to access these resources off-campus, and occasionally when you are on campus, the CapU account login page will appear.
Just enter your CapU Network ID:
username: firstnamelastname
password: CapU password
If you are asked to log in to a page that doesn't have the CapU logo, something has gone wrong. Contact us to help sort it out.
There is no charge to bring in any article or book from outside CapU Library.
Remember to plan ahead - it can take a few days or a few weeks to get your item, depending on availability.
Did you know you have borrowing privileges at other universities?
Visit the Library Services counter to get a reciprocal borrowing card and start taking books out from UBC LIbraries, SFU Library and more!