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PHSC 02 Huff: Reviewing Search Strategies

Survey of Chemistry and Physics

Merced College Library Tutorial

IWhite three on a blue background with Merced College Library written belowf you didn't learn about keywords and operators in ENGL 01A, or it's been a while, take the Merced College Library's "Using Basic Search Strategies" tutorial. 

In this 20-minute tutorial, you will learn strategies that will help you search in library databases, including how to:

  • identify keywords
  • use quotation marks
  • use words that expand or limit your searches.

You can take the tutorial as often as you'd like, and you can also download a PDF certificate of completion with your name, score, and timestamp. 

Communicating with Databases

A database will look for results that contain the exact words that you enter into the search bar, similar to the Ctrl+F shortcut.

Databases typically run these searches in the information used to describe source. For example, a database will typically look for these word matches in the title, abstract (summary), and the tagged subjects (hashtags) field of an article. Because of this, searching for an entire question or statement isn't very effective for your research.

Instead:

  • break down your research question into 2-4 concepts that represent your topic
  • come up with synonyms or related terms for the concepts you come up with
  • try different combinations of terms using operators

To find phrases (two words or more that need to be together), use quotation marks. This will command the database to retrieve results that contain the phrase. 

Examples

  • “ozone layer”
  • “solar energy”
  • "vehicle safety"

Boolean operators are words you can use between your keywords to either broaden or limit your search.

Examples

  • AND: use the operator AND in between dissimilar terms to narrow your search
    • solar energy AND cost
  • OR: use the operator OR in between similar terms (synonyms) to broader your search
    • vehicle OR car
  • NOT: use the operator NOT with a term to exclude results that contain that term
    • dolphins NOT football

Many databases have limiters to help you refine search results. The available filters will depend on the specific database.

Example

Databases from EBSCO have limiters for:

  • full-text (i.e., articles that are available to read right away)
  • publication type (e.g., news, magazines, peer-reviewed journals, etc.)
  • publication date (e.g., 2010-2020)

Selecting and Using Keywords

Online Research: Tips for Effective Search Strategies