Boolean operators are words or symbols that tell library databases how to search. With Google, you can throw search terms at the search box and trust that Google's search rules and algorithms will take care of things. Library databases need you to type in the search rules along with the topics and subjects you're searching for.
This command tells the database to search for two or more words in article titles, topics, abstracts, and - in the case of JSTOR and Project MUSE - the full text of articles:
Quotation marks are used to tell databases to search for words in a certain order. This is especially useful for finding titles or specific topics that can't be boiled down to a specific word:
Most searching in library databases can be accomplished with AND and quotation marks. But, sometimes, you might need to use these advanced database searching tools to make more nuanced searches.
This tool tells the database to find at least one of two or three words. This tool is the best way to search for synonyms without having to try an entire series of searches:
(Parentheses)OR is often paired with parentheses so you can use multiple searching tools in the same search. OR on its own can often bring back too many results, so the parentheses help keep the database from bringing up off-topic resources:
Like OR, truncation is a great way to find synonyms. In this case, truncation helps you find different variations of a word so you don't have to type in every version of a word that you want the database to look for:
The * lets the database know that you want all words that start with those letters. So, this search would bring up: psychology and psychological, but also psychologist. Be careful with this one. If you shorten a word too much (psycho*), you'll get unexpected results (like psychopath).
NOTThis tool helps you remove irrelevant results from your search. For example, if you're searching for information about Beowulf and there are a lot of results for the movie version, you can tell the database to avoid them: