Sustainable Building Technology

Major research projects are easier to tackle if you break them up into steps (like those suggested below) and give each step a mini deadline. This way, the big deadline doesn't creep up on you.

Try an assignment calculator if you are having trouble setting your own deadlines: https://calculator.lib.sfu.ca/

First, identify the key terms in your research topic or question, for example: Is green concrete an economical and effective method for emissions reductions in new buildings?

Then, brainstorm synonyms for the keywords or phrases that can be used in a search engine:

For example, other keywords that you could use for "green concrete" could be "ashcrete", "hempcrete", or "ferrock".

Only use words that add value to the search (don't type in full phrases or questions that include words like "are" or "the").

Search tips:

• “Truncating” words can help expand your search. Place an asterisk at the end of the root of the word so that the search engine will retrieve documents that contain any words that begin with that spelling:  sustainab* will find sustainable + sustainability + any plural forms
• "Phrase searching" is when you place multi-word concepts, such as “emissions reduction”, within quotation marks to search the words as one phrase
• You can use three words called Boolean Operators to connect or exclude your keywords: AND, OR, NOT

For this example, you could type the following into a search box:

("green concrete" OR ashcrete OR hempcrete OR ferrock) AND (sustainab* OR "emissions reduction")

Different search engines have different rules for how operators are used in their searches. The tips here work in OCtopus and some other database's search engines. Check the help section of the database for more information.