Unsure of where to start with creating a citation? Feeling overwhelmed by authors, titles, and where to put periods? Don't stress! LSU Libraries has access to some wonderful citation management resources available for students and faculty members to use. These can be great foundations for creating a citation. However, don't rely on the 100%. You will still need to double check them for errors. Citation Management software can be a useful tool but it is only a tool. Ask your professor if you questions about the citation style they prefer.
Discovery is a great place to start when you are unsure of your key terms. It searches our catalog and many (not all) of the databases we own. Don't forget to filter on the left hand side of the page. You can filter by full text, dates, article type, subject, and more. This is also a wonderful resource to help you develop keywords for your search.
Keyword searching is the, "key" for successful searching. Synonyms can make or break your searching experience and without the exact term, you may struggle finding the resources you need. This is why it is so important to search using different synonyms. If you type in one term and you don't find what you are looking for, try searching for it under a different term.
If the topic is of a medical nature, you will want to use MeSH headings. "MeSH is the National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary thesaurus" - U.S. National Library of Medicine. Many databases use MeSH subject headings. Instead of using the term, "Senior Citizen," the proper MeSH term is: "Aged". The scope note can give you more details if you are unsure if you are using the term correctly. In this case, "Aged" is: "A person 65 through 79 years of age. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available."
Databases that use MeSH terms include (but are not limited to):