Search Terms
Identify the main concepts of your research topic.
- Example:
- What are the variables affecting sustainable water systems?
Think of synonyms for each concept.
- Example:
- sustainable = sustainability
- water = hydro
Boolean Operators
AND
To find articles which contain all of your concepts:
- Combine them with AND
- Using AND narrows your search
- The more words you combine with AND, the less results you will retrieve
- Example:
- sustainability AND water
OR
To find articles which contain any of your keywords:
- Combine them with OR
- Using OR expands your search
- The more words you combine with OR, the more results you will retrieve
- Example:
- (water OR hydro) AND sustainability
Phrase Searching
To find an exact phrase use quotation marks.
- Example:
- "sustainable energy"
Truncation
Truncation, also called stemming, is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings.
- Both the singular and plural forms of a word
- Words that begin with the same word stem
- Truncation symbols vary by database; common symbols include: *, ?, #, $
- Example:
- sustainab* = sustainable, sustainability
Filters
- Controlled vocabulary/Subject heading
- Date
- Document type