CQ Researcher Help Guide

The following is a description of how to do a basic search in CQ Researcher. CQ Researcher is a good place to begin a research report on a topic of current interest and will provide a good overview of a topic in a 20-40 page report.

Access our printable handout for sample screen images that correspond with the explanation.

Getting Started

There are several options when searching for an article in CQ Researcher:

• Enter the key words of your topic in the Quick Search box at the top of the screen, under the "CQ Researcher" banner. Try to use only one word or two word phrases.
• If you are looking for a topic, click the "Browse Reports" drop down menu, found under the Quick Search box and to the left. Choose "By Topic" from the list of options.
• If you already have a topic, click the Advanced Search link, found to the right of the Quick Search box. Using Advanced Search, you can specify a date range and/or narrow your search with other options.
• NOTE: It is worthwhile to create a login (found under "Your Profile," to the right of "Browse Reports"). This will let you save and email reports.

General Tips for Searching

• Truncate your terms with an asterisk (*) to find more results.  For example, type comput* to find the words computer or computing.
• Search for exact phrases with quotation marks (“”).
• Use just a few key words in your search.  The database will not look for common ‘stop words’ like: been, however, so, or, in, etc.
• Check the “Subject Terms” at the top of the search screen to find the best words to use in this database.
• When a singular word is searched, the plural and possessive forms of that word will also be searched as long as you do not put your search term in quotation marks (“”). For example, a search for the phrase alley cat could also search for all of the following: alley cat, alley cat's, alley cats, alley's cat, alley's cat's, alley's cats, alleys cat, etc.

Search Results

Your search results are ranked by a score (from 1-100), and are listed by title and given a date. Choose the entry that best fits your topic.

Item Record

The item record, which displays a CQ Researcher report in full, allows you to:

• Jump to different sections of the report using the navigation bar down the left-hand side of the page.
• E-mail or print the report, or a particular section of a report, using the dropdown menus at the top of the page.

Need additional help?
Ask a Reference Librarian!

• Des Plaines Campus Library, 2nd floor, 847.635.1644
• Ray Hartstein Campus Library, Room A200, 847.635.1474