Searching library literature databases is different than searching Google or Google Scholar (which are web search tools).
On this page are some common search techniques that you can use in searching almost any database.
If you search a database and do not get the results you expect, please feel free to contact me directly for advice, or contact other library staff via our ASKus services. Library staff are happy to help you find what you need!
Start with a clear understanding of your research question or statement.
Write a short question or statement that describes your research topic.
Examine your question or statement and identify the most important concepts. These are your initial keywords.
Research Strategy Steps
Create a Research Question or Statement
Identify Key Concepts
Find Synonyms and Related Terms for each Key Concept
Create Search Statement using Boolean Operators to Connect Key Concepts
Identify initial keywords, both specific and more general, for your topic, then think of synonyms that could be substituted for your keywords. Remember to search for a broader subject term if you do not find any articles using a very specific term. More general articles will often provide you with important background information and context for your research.
Boolean searching allows you to search using multiple concepts.
The Boolean search operators are AND, OR and NOT.
AND the search will contain all of the terms:
Ex: giraffe AND foraging
OR the search will contain at least one of the terms
Ex: foraging OR feeding OR grazing
NOT excludes terms from your search - USE CAUTIOUSLY.
Ex: zebra NOT mussel
Truncation allows you to search the 'root' of a word for all its different endings by adding a symbol to the end od a word. The most common truncation symbol is the asterisk * but databases vary.
* finds multiple endings or beginnings
Ex: cell* finds cell, cells, cellular, cellulose, etc.
Ex: child* finds child, children, childhood, etc.
Ex: *oxide finds peroxide, nitric oxide, etc.
$ finds zero or one character
Ex: cell$ finds cell or cells
Ex: behavior$r finds behavior or behaviour
Ex: wom$n finds woman or women
Most databases let you limit search results with a limit bar to the side of the results.
Some limits include:
Publication type / Document type
(article, newspaper, book chapter, book, dissertation),
Publication
(articles from a specific journal)
Date of Publication,
Research areas
Language
Some databases, such as Academic Search Premier, will also offer some additional limits:
Scholarly (Peer-reviewed) Journals
Full text / Linked Full Text (not usually recommended)
You can use this Concept Chart to build your search strategy.
Start with your initial Concept keywords, then fill in other terms that could be used to describe that concept.
Phrase searching will find the two or more words in the phrase in EXACT ORDER.
The most common way to phrase search is to enclose the phrase with quotation marks.
Ex: "Gulf of Mexico"
Ex: "carbon storage" OR "carbon sequestration"
NOTE: the above search statement WILL NOT FIND articles that only use the words in a different order, such as in these article titles....
...storage and turnover of carbon in soils....
....Carbon dioxide capture and storage.....
...Sequestration of carbon by soil....
....Underground sequestration of carbon dioxide....
Many databases allow for very complex searching, combining many terms into one search statement.
Use the boolean OR between the synonyms (words with similar meanings) and related terms for each concept.
Use PARENTHESES to "nest" or group the terms for each separate concept .
Ex. (utah OR colorado OR nevada)
Ex. (teens OR adolescents OR teenagers)
Ex. (anxiet* OR depress*)
Then use the boolean AND between each concept.
Examples of nested searching:
Ex. geolog* AND (utah OR colorado OR nevada)
Ex. (teens OR adolescents OR teenagers) AND (anxiet* OR depress*)
Ex. (bears OR wolves) AND yellowstone AND (visitors OR tourists)
Ex. "computer hacking" AND (china OR nigeria OR russian )
Most databases include a way to specify in which search fields your term should be found. Many times there is a box next to the search box which can be pulled down to see the available field options.
TITLE WORDS / SUBJECT HEADINGS
If your search is finding too many results, you can narrow the results by searching for your terms as title words or as subject headings/descriptors.
AUTHOR
JOURNAL NAME / SOURCE
You may want to search only in a specific journal, perhaps related to your topic, such as the Journal of Wildlife Management.