Search Tips

Databases are large, expansive, and seemingly never ending. Here are some search tips one could use when exploring literature through an advanced search.

Boolean Logic Operators

An effective Search Strategy uses Boolean operators

AND: Finds those citations that contain both search terms joined by AND
- Is used to find the intersection of different concepts
  - i.e., Beckett AND Turnips
OR and brackets (): Finds citation with ANY search terms joined by OR
- Is used to join synonyms and related terms of the same concept
  - i.e., Modernism OR “stream-of-conscious”
    - read: either Modernism OR “stream-of-conscious” OR both
  - N.B. use brackets if you have more than one term for a concept: (“stream-of-conscious” OR Modernism)
NOT: Finds citations that DO NOT contain these search terms (check the database syntax to see what is used for the exclusion term e.g. some use BUTNOT)
- Is used to exclude a set of results when you find that you are too many false hits on an unrelated topic
  - i.e., (“stream-of-conscious” OR Modernism) NOT Joyce

Truncation and Wildcards

To truncate a word, often it’s an asterisk (*)
- i.e., Modern* will find modernism, modernist, modernization, etc.
Wildcards find alternate spellings
- i.e., Colo?r finds color and colour