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Asnuntuck Campus Library

Asnuntuck - Biology Guide

Basic Search Tips

SearchUnlike Google, library databases can't understand an entire sentence. So you'll need to break your topic down into the most important ideas - the KEYWORDS.

Example Topic: How has invasive snakes effected the Everglades ecosystem?

The specifics of your topic will matter when selecting sources, but for searching you only need the most essential components.

Keywords: invasive snakes, Everglades, ecosystem

Most words have synonyms that mean the same, or very similar, things. For each keyword in your topic, try to come up with at least one synonym. Not all keywords will have synonyms, but many do!

Example: 

Keyword: ecosystem  Synonym: habitat

 

Keep an Eye Out

Sometimes scholars use terms that you might not be familiar with, or which might mean something very specific within the discipline. While searching, look for unfamiliar terms or words that show up a lot. Try searching for those and see if you find more relevant sources.

example database tools locationMost library databases have search tools built in. Try some of these:

  • Subject: Think of subjects as official hashtags. Use them to find sources about that subject.
  • Date Range: Limit your search to sources published between specific years.
  • Peer Reviewed: Limit your search to scholarly journal articles.
  • Full Text: Make sure all of the results are available to read in full.

Look on the left and right of your search results, or for an "advanced search" page to find these tools - and more!

Evaluate

You can evaluate any source using the 5 W's:

  • Who: ...wrote it? Are they an expert?
  • What: ...is the purpose of this resource? Is it educational, news,
    or entertainment?
  • Where: ...was this information published? Is this a scholarly,
    trade, or popular information source?
  • When: ...was this published or last updated? Is it currently enough
    for your needs?
  • Why: ...is this resource particularly useful? How is this resource
    better than others you could choose?

Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT

Boolean operators form the basis of database logic.

  • They connect your search words together to either narrow or broaden your set of results.
  • The three basic Boolean operators are: AND, OR, and NOT.

 

Why use Boolean operators?

  • To focus a search, particularly when your topic contains multiple search terms.
  • To connect various pieces of information to find exactly what you're looking for.
    • Example:
      second creation (title) AND wilmut and campbell (author) AND 2000 (year)

 

three sets of Venn diagrams 1) "enterprise" or "business" 2) "economy" and "finance" 3) "enterprise" not "Star Trek"

Image by M Cheung on Flickr Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 2.0)

 

This information was adapted from MIT's Database Search Tips Guide.

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.

Venn diagram showing intersections of the words "cloning", "ethics", and "humans"

Keep in mind:

  • many database will automatically put AND 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
  • search using phrases may help make your results more specific
    • For example: the following two search strings will get you different results 
      • college AND students AND test AND anxiety 
      • "college students" AND "test anxiety"

 

This information was adapted from MIT's Database Search Tips Guide.

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.

Venn diagram showing intersection of the words "cloning", "genetics", and "reproduction"

 

This information was adapted from MIT's Database Search Tips Guide.

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

 

This information was adapted from MIT's Database Search Tips Guide.

Watch this video by the Oregon School Library System for an easy to follow explanation of Boolean operators and how to use them to build search strings when you are researching in the databases.