Below, you will find a number of strategies one can use to help make searching more streamlined. While they are not imperative to doing academic research, these techniques will help you find a larger number of sources that relate specifically to your research topic or query. In turn, making the research process quicker and easier.
Please feel free to adopt the following techniques into your own searching habits. If you are ever struggling to navigate a database or have questions about searching strategies, please reach out to your librarian for assistance!
These are words, phrases, and symbols you can embed into your search string to refine your search.
| Name | Operator | Span | Result |
|
Boolean Operators
|
AND | Narrow | Records containing all the words it separates |
| OR | Broaden | Records containing any of the words it separates | |
| NOT | Narrow | Records that do not contain the word following it | |
| Phrase | " " or ( ) | Narrow | Records containing the exact phrase within the quotes or parenthesis |
| Wildcard | ? | Broaden | Records containing variable spellings of a word |
| Truncation | * | Broaden | Records containing variable endings of a root word |
"Limiters" or "filters" are ways you can further refine your search results. These are options that you will typically find either in the drop-down menu of a database's "advance search" option or on a left or right-hand side navigation menu. The amount and type of limiter options available will vary between databases. When you get into ultra-specific subject areas, a database might even offer unique limiters you cannot find elsewhere.
| Limiter | Purpose |
| Select Field | Choose which area or field to search |
| Controlled Vocabulary | Utilize database's subject headings |
| Peer Reviewed | Limit to articles examined by a panel of experts |
| Full Text | Limit to items which are available immediately |
| Publish Date | Limit to a specific date range |
| Source Type | Limit to a specific type of resource (book, article, DVD, etc.) |
Hairless Cats
Prompt: I adopted a hairless cat, but my roommate is still allergic! What besides dander could be causing their allergies?
Search terms: (cat OR feline OR "felis catus") AND allerg* NOT dander
|
Search Element |
Result |
| cat OR feline OR "felis catus" | This will bring in any article that mentions one or all of these terms. If you just searched "cat", you would cut out any articles that use the term "feline" instead |
| AND allerg* | This will bring in articles that mention cats AND allergies. By truncating allergy to allerg*, you will also bring in any articles that include allergy, allergies, allergen, and allergic |
| NOT dander | This will remove any articles that talk about dander so you can learn about alternate causes |
Last Minute Search
Prompt: My assignment is due tonight, and I still need three scholarly sources about dolphins! How do I make sure I'm finding the articles that I need?
Search Terms: dolphin OR delphinus delphis
Limiters/filters: full text, peer reviewed
|
Search Element |
Results |
| dolphin OR delphinus delphis | This will bring in any article that mentions one or all of these terms. This will return articles that refer to dolphins by either their common or scientific name |
| full text | This will only bring in articles where the full text is available immediately. This can limit you from seeing other useful resources that aren't immediately available, but it will get you full text sources quickly. |
| peer reviewed | This will only bring in scholarly peer reviewed sources, as is required by the example assignment |
Per My Last Email
Prompt: I'm looking for a book I read for class a few years ago. All I remember is that "Per My Last Email" is somewhere in the title
Search Terms: "per my last email" (search in field: title)
Limiters: source type: book
|
Search Element |
Results |
| "per my last email" | This will search for the exact phrase "per my last email" instead of searching for each word separately |
| search in field: title | This limits the search term to only look in the title of articles. If you do not select a field, the database will automatically search for your term in the entire text of a material's record |
| source type: book | This limits the results to only include books |
Women's Rights
Prompt: I need primary sources about the women's rights movement in the 1980s
Search Terms: "wom?n's rights" OR "gender equality"
Limiters: publication date: 1980-1989
|
Search Element |
Result |
| wom?n's rights | This will bring in any article that discusses women's rights and all of the various spellings (women, womyn, woman) |
| OR gender equality | This will bring in any article that uses the term gender equality instead of women's rights |
|
publication date: 1980-1989 |
This will bring in primary sources from the 80s, A.K.A articles that were published at the time events were happening |
