In this lesson you will learn how to utilize a variety of search strategies to effectively locate and retrieve information on your topic. You will:
Used to typing in a phrase in Google and getting results? You could do this in a library database, but you'll be sifting through unnecessary and irrelevant results if you do. Having a strategy simply helps you make the most of your research the first time around.
What will having a search strategy do for you?
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Search Strategy |
What it does |
Example |
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AND (Boolean Operator) |
All terms must appear Narrows your search Fewer results Use to include multiple unique concepts |
“coffee AND Brazil” searches for all articles that include both terms, coffee and Brazil
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OR (Boolean Operator) |
Either term may appear Broadens your search More results Use for related concepts |
“coffee OR caffeine” searches for either term in the articles
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NOT (Boolean Operator) |
Removes a term from your search Narrows your search Fewer results Use for concepts you do not want to include |
“South America NOT Brazil” searches for articles on South America and removes articles with the word Brazil in them
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Phrases |
Search for exact phrases Narrows your search Fewer results |
“ecological tourism” searches for that phrase in that particular order |
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Truncation |
Searches for all forms of a word Broadens your search More results Use to search for the root word of a concept |
Add an asterisk * to the root or stem of a word A search for “tour*” will look for tour, tourism, tourist |
Download and complete the following activity. Instructions can be found within the document.
