LibGuides: Chicano Studies: Getting Started

Searching Tips

Start at the Moorpark College Library homepage and use OneSearch (Library Catalog). OneSearch allows you to search the Moorpark College library catalog for books, eBooks, articles, streaming videos and other materials. It searches many of our databases, but not all. It is a great place to begin your research.

Experiment with searches using different combinations of your keywords. The words you type into the search box affect your search results. Not all authors use the same language to describe similar topics, so you will need to try a variety of searches. Create a list of possible words that could appear in a book or article related to your topic of interest.

Come up with synonyms or related terms for those.
Helpful Hints: Use upper or lower case. It is not necessary to capitalize proper names. It is not necessary to type "the, a, an" at the beginning of titles.
Make sure your topic is not too broad or narrow.
When searching for the topic of Chicanos or Mexican Americans in the library catalog (OneSearch) or the databases, consider also using Hispanic/Hispanics or Latino. Remember that the system has to match all of the search terms you put in. Try specific Latino groups such as Puerto Ricans, Cubans or others. There are various terms used when searching for information on Hispanics. Here are some frequently used terms: Hispanic, Latino, Latina, Chicano, Chicana, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican-American.
Use the "subjects" listed in each item record to find related books or articles. Example of subjects in the book

Chicano movement for beginners :

Make note of any related terms or synonyms used. Are there any plurals that you will need to use: Example: Latino/Latina/Latinos or Latinx. (Consult the "Help" screens for additional search tips)
Use quotation marks around multi-word names to get better results. This will prompt the system to look for those words next to each other and in that order. Examples: "Mexican Americans" "Chicano movement" "Cinco de Mayo" ""treaty of guadalupe hidalgo"