Keywords: Use words or phrases that express the main concepts in your topic. Entering statements or questions is less effective.
Be Flexible in Searching: Think of synonyms or related terms for your keywords. Changing combinations of search terms can greatly improve the results you get.
Use Boolean Operators: Put your search terms in the database search boxes. If searching online, put AND, OR or NOT between keywords or phrases. Search engines like Google or Yahoo! understand Boolean logic.
Phrase Search: enclose search terms in quotation marks. Example: "virtual reality"
Truncate Terms: Use the * symbol to replace word endings. Example: empath* will return empathy, empathetic, empathize, etc.
Using AND, OR and NOT in databases and in online search engines can help you narrow, broaden and/or focus your search to help you find just the information you are looking for.
The HOME tab of this guide lists library databases that you should use for your research. These databases have been selected because they are likely to be the most helpful to you and the topics you are researching. To get the most out of database searching remember to:
1 Identify the main concepts for your topic or research question then develop potential keywords to use in your searches.
2 Think about the types of information you need to answer your research question.
3 Locate a good database for your information needs. HINT: Use the databases list on the HOME tab of the research guide.
4 Develop search statements from your keywords using the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT.
5 Use tools in the databases to limit your searches by date, source type and full-text.
