HIST 2544 - Panama: Global Crossroads - Robinson

Unlike search tools like Google and Chat GPT, the library catalog and many of our databases require that you convert your research question into keywords. 

Research Question or Topic: 

How did negotiations to dig the Panama Canal lead to Panama's independence from Colombia? 

Keywords:

Panama, Colombia, "panama canal," "Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty," independence, "united states," history, etc. 

In the example above, I've tried to think of all the different terms that could be relevant to my question, and to search effectively, I will try different combinations of those terms in the main library catalog search. 

To create a keyword from a string of words, use quotation marks to keep the string of words together: "united states" in the previous example. 

In addition to keywords, to effectively search the Library Catalog, you will need to use filters and Boolean Operators. 

Boolean Operators, AND, OR, and NOT, are used to narrow and limit your search.

Using AND between words will ensure that your search results include all of your keywords: "panama canal" AND Colombia

OR will include results that may have one or the other. This can be used to expand your results and include synonyms or related terms: (independence OR sovereignty OR separation)  AND Colombia AND "panama canal"

NOT is used to exclude certain terms from your results: "panama canal"  AND colombia NOT engineering 

Filters can be accessed in the left panel of your Catalog search results under "Refine your results." These allow you to narrow your results by scholarly or peer-reviewed sources, year, format, language, and subject.