Search Tips - EXS 301 - Braxton - LibGuides at North Carolina Wesleyan University

Search Strategy Tips

Here are a few tips to help you develop a good search strategy:

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 phrase. Example:

"health promotion" or “dietary supplement”

3. Too few or poor results? Use synonyms and related terms to find different results. Example:

"physical activity" in place of "exercise"

“strength training” in place of “resistance training"

Truncation

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

Wildcard symbol may also be used to replace a single character to include different spellings:

wom?n for women or woman

Databases use different symbols so check the searching help.

Combining Wildcard(s) and Truncation in a Search String

Maximize your search by combining these tools:

olympi* AND athlet*
Wildcard + truncation + Boolean
wom?n AND (equal* OR rights)
AND (work* OR employ*)

Using AND with Your Keywords

AND is used to connect two or more keywords using Boolean logic. They are also known as Boolean operators.

Use AND to connect keywords that you think there is a relationship between, or are associated, such as "income AND education", or "gender AND salary". It also reduces the number of results.

Boolean Operators

Use AND in a search to:

narrow your results
tell the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records
example: cloning AND humans AND ethics

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.

For example, Google automatically puts an AND in between your search terms.
Though all your search terms are included in the results, they may not be connected together in the way you want.
For example, this search: college students test anxiety is translated to: college AND students AND test AND anxiety. The words may appear individually throughout the resulting records.
You can search using phrases to make your results more specific.
For example: "college students" AND "test anxiety". This way, the phrases show up in the results as you expect them to be.

Use OR in a search to:

connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)
broaden your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records
example: cloning OR genetics OR reproduction

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:

exclude words from your search
narrow your search, telling the database to ignore concepts that may be implied by your search terms
example: cloning NOT sheep