Search by keywords and small phrases.
Maximize your keyword searches with Boolean searching:
Use "quotation marks" to search for phrases.
AND
internet AND teenagers all words must appear in the result list OR
teenagers OR adolescents
either word may appear in the results.
NOT
internet NOT "social network"
must mention the term "internet", but excludes
items with the phrase "social network"
Note: some databases use AND NOT rather than NOT
and Google Scholar uses the minus (-) signUse the database’s "help" feature to find the syntax for advanced searches. This varies by database
Consider truncation. The asterisk (*) symbol is used most often
adolescen* will search for all forms of the root, adolesence, adolescent, adolescents
Try using database Subject or descriptor terms. Those are listed in the database’s thesaurus, or they may be listed near the article abstract. These can be useful for learning the preferred vocabulary of a discipline.