1. LIBRARY INFORMATION COMMON
Search Strategies: In-class Worksheet
Constructing a Search Strategy Guide: http://rdc.libguides.com/biology
Research
Research Strategy Worksheet: Locating Resources in Five Steps
1. State your research topic as completely as you can.
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2. Think about your topic and circle two or three of the most important concepts in your search
topic above.
3. Write each concept in a top space, then list synonymous or related terms, if applicable. If a
thesaurus is available for your database, use appropriate terms from it as well.
Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3
AND/OR AND/OR AND/OR
AND/OR AND/OR AND/OR
AND/OR AND/OR AND/OR
Example:
I would like to find literature on academic achievement of children of single parent families.
Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3
academic achievement children single parent
AND/OR grades AND/OR adolesce*n? AND/OR sole support*
AND/OR performance AND/OR youth AND/OR
Search statement: (academic achievement or grades or performance) and (children or adolescen?)
and (single parent+)
4. Select the database(s) that best cover your topic.
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Created by Julie Anne Kent, Hons., B.A., M.L.I.S.: Updated January 2011

2. LIBRARY INFORMATION COMMON
Search Strategies: In-class Worksheet
Write down your Example: How does violence in the media affect young children?
research question. Research Guide: http://rdc.libguides.com/biology
Underline two or
1 three concepts that
are essential to the
question.
Example: violence Example: media Example: children
Write each concept
2 in its own box.
AND
AN
D
Example: aggression Example: television Example: teenagers
Use these columns
_________________ _________________ _________________
to list synonyms or
other words that
3 have similar
OR
_________________
AND OR
_________________
AN
D
OR
_________________
meaning for each
concept. OR OR OR
_________________ _________________ _________________
Construct your search using Boolean operators, truncation, and parentheses. Use this search in steps 5 and 6.
Example: (violence or aggression) AND (media or television or movies) AND (children or youth or teenagers)
Tips for Searching
4 Too many records? Add an additional concept with AND (Example: poverty AND crime)
Too few records? Add another search term with OR (Example: college OR university)
Too many records on an unrelated topic? Eliminate a word with NOT (Example: virus NOT computer)
Use a truncation symbol (* ? !) to search for variants of a word. Right-hand truncation is the most common
form of truncation. It allows you to search for the first few letters of a word and retrieve additional letters to
the right.
Examples: (violen* OR aggressi*) AND (child* OR teen*)
Need Articles from Journals, Magazines, or Newspapers? Search Databases (Loop, Library Tab, FIND SUBJECT,
open Subject Guide, FIND ARTICLES TAB, review list of databases available to you)
5 Which databases are most relevant to your topic/question? List the names of relevant databases.
1) 2) 3)
2
Created by Julie Anne Kent, Hons., B.A., M.L.I.S.: Updated January 2011