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Database Search Strategies

Use Boolean Operators
            AND – narrows search by including all terms in the resulting records
                        psychology AND psychiatry
            OR – broadens search results by including two or more similar concepts
                        psychology OR psychiatry
            NOT – narrows search results by excluding terms
                        psychology NOT psychiatry
Use the limiters
Limiters allow users to narrow their search by including certain criteria. Common limiters include the following:
            Date – recent dates are often more relevant
            Peer-reviewed (Scholarly)
            Full text
            Primary source documents
Use quotation marks to search an exact phrase
            “climate change”
Use an asterisk to search all possible endings of a root word
            manage* for manages, management, managers, managerial

Too many results?
  • Use AND to add more terms to your search
  • Do not use OR
  • Use the limiters
  • Find more specific terms
Too few results?
  • Try a different database
  • Use fewer search terms
  • Brainstorm related terms and broader terms
  • Break your topic into different parts and search each part individually
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    • Database Search Strategies
    • Citations
  • Image Gallery
    • New Books