The easiest way to search for information electronically is to enter a couple of keywords into the search box of the resource and see what type of results you get. This strategy, however, will often result in too few, too many, or irrelevant results.
In order to retrieve the most relevant results, you will need to construct a search string. A search string is a combination of keywords, truncation symbols, and boolean operators you enter into the search box of an electronic library resource or an Internet search engine.
Truncation or wildcard symbols can broaden your search and allow you to look for variations of words. For example, searching on sport* would bring up variations such as sport, sports, sporting, sporty, etc.
Note: The truncation symbol varies depending on the electronic resource you are searching. For more information, consult the database’s “help” or “search tips” pages.
Are you finding too much information or perhaps not finding enough? Use alternative, narrower, or broader keywords to vary your results.
Operator | Examples | Results |
AND |
|
Retrieves records that contain ALL of the search terms. |
OR |
|
Retrieves records that contain ANY of the search terms, but does not necessarily include all of them. |
NOT |
|
Excludes records containing the second search term. |
Note: Results may vary using these methods since different databases have different parameters. Searching in a specific database’s native interface offers more controlled search functionality for refining search terms.