2. Search Strategies
• No matter where you search:
– Library Databases
– The Library Catalog
– The Internet
• Many of these “tricks” will apply.
3. Keywords
• What words will you use to search with?
• Be flexible!
– burglary
– Breaking and entering
– robbery
– Larceny
– Shoplifting, stealing,
stolen goods, thievery
“Spot the pit bull” by audreyjm529, http://www.flickr.com/photos/audreyjm529/201453689/. Creative commons license.
4. Boolean Searching
Use For
And Narrowing your search & retrieving records containing all
words
Or Broaden your search to retrieve any of the words.
Not Narrow search to retrieve records not containing term
following it
Slide show creator: Abigail Colucci, University of Calgary Library,
via SlideShare (http://www.slideshare.net/AbbeyWrites/boolean-
searching-3310937?from=share_email)
5. Boolean Searching
Prisons Sex
Prisons Sex
offenders
offenders
AND = All results about prisons AND sex OR = Results on either prisons or sex
offenders offenders (not necessarily both)
Prisons Sex
offenders
Not = Results on prisons, but not if it
includes info about sex offenders.
6. A sample search screen:
The article must include one of these words:
Prisons – jail – corrections
It also must include one of these words/phrases:
Sex offenders – rapists
But if “Christopher Smith” is mentioned, then those
articles should not be included!
8. Phrases
• Are you looking for words appearing together?
– Put the words “in quotes” to find that exact
phrase!
• For example: early release versus “early release”
9. Look for Limiting Options
The Catalog…
Other library
databases…
And even with web search
engines like Google!
10. Truncation/Wildcard Symbols
Use symbols to search for various forms of a
word. (Symbols may be different in different
databases!)
Example: psych* Example: wom?n
• Psychiatric • woman
• Psychological • women
• Psychologists
• Psychotic…
11. Limit your Fields
• Limit where you are searching if you need to
narrow or increase your results.
13. Frustration?
• Not happy with your results?
• Think about what kind of information you
expect to find.
• Be more flexible or broad if not seeing things
• Be more specific if you’re getting too much
14. Originality!
The good news: Congratulations, you have a
clever and interesting topic that nobody has
thought of.
The bad news: Nobody has thought of it, yet, so
there are no articles about your exact topic!
What to do: Find related information, things
that you can use to draw your own conclusions.
