ENGL 1102 - Professor Sarah Knowles - Spring 2025: Library & Web Search Strategies
Discover Search
A Brief Introduction to Using Discover
Library & Web Search Tips
Library Search Tips
| Technique | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Boolean Operators | AND: climate AND change OR: cats OR felines NOT : politics NOT elections |
AND: Narrows search; both terms must be present. OR: Broadens search; either term can be present. NOT : Excludes terms; refines search. |
| Nesting | (cats OR felines) AND behavior | Group terms with parentheses to clarify search logic. |
| Proximity Searching | "climate change" N3 policy | Find terms within a specific distance from each other. |
| Phrase Searching | "renewable energy" | Use quotes for exact phrases to improve search accuracy. |
| Truncation | environ* | Use * to find variations of a word (e.g., environment, environmental). |
| Wildcard | wom?n | Use ? to replace a single character (e.g., woman, women). |
Advanced Web Search Techniques
| Technique | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Exact Phrase | "climate change" | Use quotes to search for an exact phrase |
| Site Search | site:nytimes.com "climate change" | Limit results to a specific website (e.g., New York Times) |
| Domain Search | site:.edu, site:.gov, or site:.org | Search for websites ending in a specific domain |
| Exclude Words | "climate change" -politics | Use minus sign to exclude words from results |
| Wildcard | climate * effects | Use asterisk as a placeholder for unknown words |
| File Type | filetype:pdf "climate change" | Search for specific file types (e.g., PDF, PPT) |
| Title Search | intitle:"climate change" | Search for words in the title of web pages |
| Proximity Search | climate AROUND(5) crisis | Searchers for the word climate within five words of crisis. |
Advanced Library & Web Searching
Advanced Web and Library Searching
Mastering advanced search techniques can significantly enhance your research efficiency and effectiveness. Whether you're using web search engines or academic databases, understanding how to refine your search can yield better results.
Key Techniques:
- Boolean Operators: Use AND, OR, and NOT to combine or exclude keywords.
- Quotation Marks: Enclose phrases in quotation marks to find exact matches.
- Truncation: Use an asterisk (*) to search for multiple forms of a word (e.g., "educat*" finds "education," "educator," etc.).
- Filters: Apply filters such as date range, document type, and subject area to narrow down results.
- Library Databases: Access specialized academic databases through your institution's library for peer-reviewed and scholarly sources.