ENGL 1102 - Comp II - GEHLER: Getting started
Developing Your Search Strategy
Developing an effective search strategy involves:
- Identifyng the key search concepts
- Identifying related terms to the key search concepts
- Using standard search structures to broaden and narrow your search results
While there is not ONE right way to do a search, the strategies identified here will improve your results!
Boolean Terms
Boolean terms (sometimes called Boolean operators or command terms) connect your keywords to create a logical phrase that the database can understand. This may involve telling the database to look for multiple terms or concepts at once, which will make your search more precise. Or it may involve searching for alternative terms that will bring back more results.
Using Boolean terms helps to create more precise and powerful searches with a higher percentage of relevant results.
This page will show you how to use the Boolean terms AND, OR, and NOT in your searches.
| Boolean Term | What It Does | How to Use |
| AND | Find items that use BOTH keywords | Violence AND video games |
| OR | Find items that use EITHER of the keywords | Violence OR Roughness |
| NOT | EXCLUDES items that use the keyword(s) | NOT board games |
Credo Reference: Get Background Info from Encyclopedias, Atlases, etc.
Need a definition? Use the Oxford English Dictionary!
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new windowHistorical dictionary, english, definitions, etymology (more...).