Second Wave Feminism : Search Tips

There are many ways you can search for resources about second-wave feminism. The list below shows and links different searches that may help retrieve what you are looking for.

In women-focused databases, there’s usually no need to put “women” into your search, except where “women” is already part of the term.

Examples of women-focused databases:

In other databases that are not women-focused, try to search for women (OR girls, if relevant) as one concept. Add AND to include your specific concept, such as hip hop, promiscuity, or childbirth. You don’t need to put in “women” if your concept already contains a “women word” (ex: chick flicks, mothers, lipstick lesbians, or a celebrity name.)

To search for synonyms or words that are connected in meaning and relevant to your search use OR. (ex: patriarchy or androcentrism or sexism; consumers or marketing or selling or product)

Put an asterisk at the end of an incomplete term to search for word stems (this is called truncation). This means any ending of the stem word will be found. (ex: Typing consum*  will find consume, consumer, consumption, etc.)

Whenever possible narrow your search results to include only scholarly or peer reviewed sources. This can usually be done in an advanced search or on a sidebar after the initial search. Remember that peer reviewed (sometimes called "refereed") scholarly journals are usually more credible sources.