IUFI FL RI Keyword Searching for Beginners
SAugust 2006 GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES
August 2006
You want to search a library database or the Web for information on a particular topic. How do you structure
a good search?
Defining the Topic. Let's say you want to research how males and females learn and if abilities in
certain subject areas differ by gender. The first thing you may want to do is write down your topic:
Are there gender differences in the mathematical abilities of males and females?
Next identify the best terms to use in searching. Note the significant concepts, or key words as they are
underlined above.
Combining Your Keywords. You tell the search engine or database how to combine your chosen
keywords through the use of the connecting words AND and OR.
OR
Use OR when you are willing to accept any of two or more
concepts. If you enter differences OR abilities, the
computer will retrieve information on differences by itself,
abilities by itself, as well as information on the two topics differences abilities
together, as illustrated in the diagram to the right. The OR
connector is very good for linking synonyms or related
concepts in order to retrieve as much relevant information
as possible, or for broadening your search. The search
would be entered as below:
difference or abilities
AND
Use AND when you require the information retrieved to
have ALL your specified keywords. If you want to find
information comparing the differing abilities of females and
males, you would combine gender and differences with gender differences
AND. The Venn diagram at right demonstrates the breadth
of this search. The search statement entered in the
database would look like this:
gender and differences
AND and OR
If you use both AND and OR in the same search statement,
you will need to group your keywords with parentheses to gender
let the search system you are using know how you want the
words combined. The diagram at the right illustrates how
the search engine or database will find only items that
cover gender, in conjuction with the topic differences or the
topic of abilities. Your search statement might look like this:
differences abilities
gender and (differences or abilities)
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