Getting started

To find general resources on historic innovation, check out the Lemelson Center eBooks on this page, or try a basic search in the Library databases, for example:

1. Go to OneSearch, which searches most of the library's databases all at the same time.
2. Type the word innovation into the first search box.
3. Click Search.
4. Skim the list of results for articles, eBooks, etc. that might interest you. You might try some of the short "background information" articles at the very top of the list, for example:
   

Digging deeper

Say that you've chosen to address the problem of loneliness among older adults. Since you have at least two major ideas going on with this topic (loneliness and older adults), you will want to make use of the additional search boxes in OneSearch. Here is one possible search strategy you could use:

1. Go to OneSearch.
2. In the 1st search box, type terms for your first main idea:
   "older adults" or elderly or seniors
3. In the 2nd search box, type terms for your second main idea:
   loneliness or "social isolation"
4. In the 3rd search box, type the term(s):
   review
5. Then, to the right of the 3rd search box, click Select a Field (optional) and select TI Title. This will search for the word "review" in the title of articles, which will search for articles labeled "systematic review," "literature review," "scoping review," and so on. These types of articles discuss what's been written on subjects over time, so they are more likely to cover the historical aspect(s) of your problem.

After you've run the search, skim the list of results for relevant resources. Depending on the problem you’ve chosen, you may need to adjust the search to broaden or narrow your results. For more tips, check out these brief search tips or this tutorial on using the advanced search in OneSearch.

As always, don’t hesitate to contact your librarians for additional help!