About Searching
When you search library databases, you will use keywords related to your research topic. Then use the keywords to combine them using Boolean Operators into search strings (or phrase searching) to improve your search. Boolean Operators are simple words (AND, OR, and NOT) that are used to connect and define the relationship between keywords.
Remember that the database can't interpret what you mean, so you have to be clear and specific with your searches in order to control the results.
Boolean Operators in Action: AND
Boolean Operators in Action: OR
Boolean Operators in Action: NOT
Phrase Searching
Wildcard Searching
Wildcard searches allow the database to replace the wildcard symbol with any letters that would make up a real word. It's like a shorthand way of typing every possible word that fits the pattern with OR in between.
| Symbol | What it does | Sample search | Instead of typing |
| * | replaces zero or more letters at the end of a word (this is truncation) |
comput* | computer OR computing OR computational OR... |
| # | replaces at most one letter | ne#t | net OR neat OR next OR nest OR... |
| ? | replaces only one letter | wom?n | women OR woman |
Truncation Searching
Truncation is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings.
- To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end.
- Examples:
child* = child, childs, children, childrens, childhood
genetic* = genetic, genetics, genetically