Try to think of variant terms to input
Combine terms with the Boolean term 'OR'
Use Wildcard Searching
Choose full-text searching
Use the Boolean Operators AND or NOT
Use Proximity operators
Utilize the limiter options in Advanced Search
This guide will show you examples of different search strategies to use when searching the online databases. Use this guide whenever you find yourself frustrated with retrieving no results on your topic, or if you are bogged down with too many results.
This guide covers the following:
Boolean Searching - Combining terms with AND, OR, or NOT to broaden or narrow your search.
Wildcard/Truncation Searching- Using symbols in place of letters to tell the database to search variations of a word
Proximity Searching - Searching for terms based on how close they appear in a document
Using Advance Search - Can provide more control over your search results
Browsing - Browsing is an alternative to searching for information online when you are not quite sure what to enter in that search box, or you know the subject or content of a resoruce, but not necessarily the author or title. While many websites and databases offer a search function, they are also set up so you can browse for information without having to worry about entering in the right search terms.
