Basic Search Strategies
Search by keywords and small phrases.
Maximize your keyword searches with Boolean searching. What's Boolean?
- And
- Or
- Not
Use quotation marks to search for whole phrases.
Use the database’s built in limiting features. Some databases have a filter for full-text or scholarly journals.
Consider truncation. The symbol used is usually *. Typing in
creat* will result in results containing: create, creating, creators,
creation, creatures, etc.
Try using the database’s subject terms. Those are listed in the database’s thesaurus, or they may be listed near the article abstract.
