Search Tips for better results:
1. Use two or three keywords rather than a complete sentence. Example:
TOPIC: I'm interested in finding articles on the importance of photosynthesis to global ecosystem.
KEYWORDS: photosynthesis --- plants – oxygen --- light --- carbon dioxide
The other words do not relate to the core concepts of the research question and are not effective keywords.
2. Use quotation marks " " when you want to search for a key phrase. Example:
"social media" or “organizational behavior”
3. Too few or poor results? Use synonyms and related terms to find different results. Example:
"education" in place of "learning"
“resistance training” in place of “strength training"
4. Use Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) between your keywords or key phrases. Look for the Advanced Search option in library databases to help you build a Boolean search. See the Boolean Operators box on this page for more information.
Truncation symbol, [an asterisk (*), dollar sign ($), or plus sign (+), etc.], with the root/stem of a word broadens your search to include various wording endings:
child*=child or children or childhood
Truncation is used to search for various endings to root words. Use the asterisk symbol (*) for truncation.
Examples of truncation:
International spellings:
theat* -> theatre, theater, ALSO theatrical
Various endings:
comput* -> computer, computing, computation
psycho* -> psychology, psychopathic, psychopathology, psychotherapy
Use as many common letters as possible:
colon* -> colonoscopy, colonization, colon, colony
coloni* -> colonization, colonies, colonialism
Wildcard symbol may also be used to replace a single character to include different spellings:
wom?n for women or woman
Wildcards are used for search terms with unknown characters and alternate spellings.
Wildcard symbols include:
? = matches exactly one letter
# = match zero or one letter
* = matches multiple letters
Some examples using ?:
Plurals: wom?n -> woman, women
International spelling: defen?e -> defense, defence
Unsure of spelling: devi?nce -> deviance, devience
Some examples using #:
International spellings: colo#r -> color, colour
Plurals: color# -> color, colors
Unsure of spelling: gover#ment -> goverment, government
Combine wildcards: colo#r# -> color, colour, colors, colours
Some examples using *:
International spellings: orthop*dic -> orthopedic, orthopaedic
Related concepts: psych*y -> psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychopathy
Replace entire word: "A Midsummer * dream" -> A midsummer night's dream
Boolean Operators
Use AND, OR, & NOT with your keywords or key phrases for more focused searches.
Link your keywords, phrases, and synonyms in a search string with AND, OR, NOT. These are called Boolean Operators. For best results, use all caps with AND, OR, & NOT.
Narrow results with AND:
"social media" AND anxiety AND teenager
Use AND between your keywords to get all the keywords in your results.
Widen results with OR:
anxiety OR depression
Use OR when you have synonyms, related terms, or alternate keywords.
Use Parentheses to combine AND and OR in a search string:
"social media" AND (anxiety OR depression)
"social media" AND (anxiety OR depression) AND (teenager OR adolescent)
Remove results with NOT:
Instagram NOT Facebook
[Caution: this can remove results that are primarily about Instagram but have one mention of Facebook.]
Pro Tip:
Look for the Advanced Search option when searching in library resources. It will help you build your Boolean Search by giving you multiple search boxes with AND between each box.
Use AND in a search to:
The purple triangle in the middle of the Venn diagram below represents the result set for this search. It is a small set using AND, the combination of all three search words.
Be aware: In many, but not all, databases, the AND is implied.
Use OR in a search to:
All three circles represent the result set for this search. It is a big set because any of those words are valid using the OR operator.
Use NOT in a search to:
Maximize your search by combining these tools: