Whether you're using OneSearch or another library database, learning a few key search strategies will make your search process more effective. When using search engines like Google, you can type in whole questions or long phrases. But library databases are designed differently and require adjusting our search process. Use the following strategies to find the information most relevant to your research!
First, brainstorm the main search terms related to your topic. Library databases work best when you use nouns as search terms—eliminate any articles (of, to, is, with), adjectives (best, worst, good, bad), and most verbs (affect, change, alter, support).
Quotation marks are used to tell databases to search for exact phrases. This is especially useful for topics that can't be boiled down to a single word.
This is also helpful when searching for the title of a specific source or a person's name.
You'll then connect your search terms using AND to create a search string you can use in a database search box.
When you connect search terms using AND, the database finds items that contain all your search terms. Search strings using AND narrow our search and make it more specific to our topic.
Most of the time, you'll want to use search strings with at least two search terms, in order to find the research most relevant to your needs. But be aware, search strings work best with no more than three or four search terms—otherwise, your search will be too narrow and the database might not find anything.
Most searching in library databases can be accomplished with AND and quotation marks. But sometimes, you might need to use the following advanced search strategies to make more nuanced searches.
OR tells the database to find items that contain at least one of two or three words. This helps us search for synonyms or closely related terms, without having to search for each term separately—saving you time!
Often, OR is used in conjunction with parentheses. OR on its own often finds too many results, so the parentheses help keep the database from bringing up off-topic resources.
Using truncation is a great way to find synonyms or different variations of a word, so you don't have to type in every version of a word you want the database to look for. Start with the beginning part of a term, then add an asterisk:
The * lets the database know you want all words that start with those letters. So, this search would bring up: anthropology, anthropologist, and anthropological. Be careful with this one! If you shorten a word too early (anthr*), you'll get unexpected results (like anthrax!).
You may want to exclude certain concepts from your research. This can be done using the word NOT. Search strings using NOT help you narrow your search and find results that are more relevant to your topic.
If you're struggling with your searches, contact a librarian! We can help you brainstorm relevant keywords and help you format search strings for effective use in library databases.