PSYCH 1B Coahran Sp 20: Searching in Databases

The words you type into the search box affect your search results. Not all authors use the same language to describe similar topics, so you will need to try a variety of searches.

• Create a list of possible words that could appear in a book or article related to your topic of interest.
• Come up with synonyms or related terms for those.
• Stick to using 2-4 concepts at a time when searching.

• “air quality”
• “college students”
• "Central Valley"

These two searches are exactly the same; they are just arranged differently.

Search using one search box:

asthma AND children AND (California OR Merced)

Search using three search boxes:

asthma

AND children

AND California OR Merced

The asterisk * is the most common truncation symbol.

• child* = child, children, childhood, etc.

You do have to be careful with truncation. Sometimes you might get unexpected results.

• minor*= minor, minors, minority, minorities, etc.