Search Strategies
Learning how to craft sophisticated search queries will decrease the amount of time you spend researching and improve the relevance of your search results. Below are some common strategies for improving your searches. Please note:
Not all databases support the same search features. If you get an error message, no results, or too many results, revise your search or ask a librarian for assistance.
Combining Concepts
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Description
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Examples
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AND
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The boolean character AND is used to combine two or more search concepts.
Search results must contain both concept A and concept B, which narrows the search and produces fewer results.
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• students AND self-assessment
• financial ratios AND small businesses
• nonprofit AND leadership AND innovation
Google Scholar format: chocolate strawberry
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OR
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The boolean character OR is used to add synonyms or similar words to your search.
Search results can contain either keyword A or keyword B, which broadens the search and produces more results.
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• doctors OR physicians
• teenagers OR teens OR adolescents
• 1960s OR sixties OR 60s
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| NOT |
The boolean characters NOT or AND NOT are used to eliminate specific results, especially when a word has multiple meanings. It should be used carefully since it is easy to accidentally eliminate useful results.
Search results are limited to concept A and exclude results that mention concept B.
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• AIDS NOT feline
• Saturn NOT car
• Seal NOT Navy
Google Scholar format: violence -guns
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Phrase Searches, Truncation, and Wildcards
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Description
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Examples |
Phrase Searches
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Quotation marks are placed around a phrase. For instance, a search for “special education” will find articles on "special education" and will exclude articles that just mention “education” or just mention “special.”
This technique can be used to find quotations, song lyrics, and common titles. It is also useful when you want to include stopwords in your search, such as “a” or “the,” which would normally be excluded by the search engine. |
• “alternative dispute resolution”
• "lactation consultant"
• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
ScienceDirect format: {heart attack} |
| Truncation |
The asterisk (*) character finds word suffixes, eliminating the need to type all variations of a word into your search.
Be careful to include enough letters. For instance, dis* will find disability and disabled, but it will also find disorder, disaster, and disease. |
• disab* finds disability, disabilities, and disabled
• Afric* finds Africa and Africans
• research* finds research, researchers, and researching
Not supported by Google Scholar, which automatically includes alternative suffixes |
| Wildcards |
Some databases allow you to use the question mark character as a letter substitute.
If an article ends with a question mark, exclude it from the search to prevent incorrect search results. |
• wom?n finds woman, women, and womyn
• psych????y finds psychiatry and psychology, but not psychotherapy
Not supported by: PubMed, Project Muse, Google Scholar, SAGE. Use "OR" to find alternative spellings
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Developing your Search
1) Briefly describe your search in a single sentence using words and phrases with which you are familiar. Example: How can microloans alleviate poverty?
2) Identify the major concepts in your topic, i.e. microloans and poverty
3) Brainstorm synonyms and potential search terms for each concept
Microloan Search Terms
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Poverty Search Terms
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microloan
microloans
microcredit
Kiva (microcredit charity)
Muhammad Yunus (microcredit activist) |
poverty
poor
low-income |
4) Enter your search terms in a library database. Use search boxes and search characters to group concepts.
Database Limiters
Bibliography Mining
Subject Searching versus Keyword Searching
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Subject Searching
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Keyword Searching
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Description
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A subject search only searches in the subject/descriptor field. If you do not know a subject heading to search on, do a keyword search first. When you find a good resource, check out the subject headings listed in the record and use it as a gateway to find similar materials.
Note: you can combine subject headings and keywords in your search
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A keyword search does not use a controlled vocabulary and will find your search terms in any number of descriptive fields (title, abstract, etc.). Before beginning a keyword search, it is a good practice to spend a few minutes brainstorming synonyms and alternative spellings. A thesaurus can help with this process.
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Quick Comparison
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• Narrow search (Retrieves potentially fewer items)
• Searches only in the subject/descriptor field
• Search terms must be selected from a controlled vocabulary list like the Library of Congress Subject Headings or a database’s thesaurus
• High degree of relevancy
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• Broad Search (Retrieves a potentially large number of items)
• Searches in any number of descriptive fields like title, author, subject, abstract and/or the full text of a document
• Search terms can be any concepts or words/phrases that you choose
• High degree of inclusiveness |
Examples
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Indians of North America
Automobiles
Motion Pictures
United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865
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Native Americans
Cars
Movies or films
United States and civil war |
Use When
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• A subject heading on your exact topic exists
• Want precise results immediately |
• There is no subject heading for your topic (topic or concept is very current) or database does not allow subject searches
• Subject headings are too broad or too specific
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