Putting Concepts Together - AND, OR and NOT
Use AND and OR to combine keywords or phrases.
Example:
Operator |
Sample Search |
The search will find |
AND | careers and medicine |
Items that contain both "careers" and "medicine" |
OR | occupations or careers |
Items that contain either "occupations" or "careers" |
NOT (sometimes AND NOT) |
assisted suicide not kevorkian |
Items that contain "assisted suicide" but not "kevorkian" |
Tips source: Chamberlain, Ellen. “Bare Bones” A Basic Tutorial on Searching the Web. 2014
Go from the general to the specific. Using the resources available, start from a general idea and slowly get more specific.
Think outside the box with your search terms. There is more than one word for almost everything. If you are having trouble with certain terms, try a thesaurus or use the suggested topics listed in the databases.
Keep track of all your resources. Maybe even a citation for each. It is difficult to retrace a resource from one quote or point.