Advanced Searching Tips

Most databases allow for proximity searching, that is looking for search terms within a certain number of words of each other. This can be extremely useful for finding more relevant articles that discuss topics in the same sentence. 

EBSCO databases use the following convention: Search Term A N4 Search Term B

Google uses the following convention: Search Term A AROUND(4) Search Term B

In addition to searching in library databases, when conducting Google searches for marketing data, include filetype:PDF as part of your search. Marketing firms will produce full-fledged or summary reports using data they have collected through surveys, studies or platform analytics. 

Always look for some indication of study methodology; ie. sample size, data collection method, or a citation for the data.