Knowing how to put your search together will save you time and make your search as efficient as possible. Searching the Library databases is different than searching Google or other search engines. Build your search using the following techniques:
Research topic |
Potential keywords |
Adverse effects of obesity on anesthetized patients |
anesthesia, obesity, overweight, surgery, complications (or any variation/synonym of these words) |
OPERATOR | WHAT IT DOES | EXAMPLES | ||||||
AND |
Placing AND between two keywords requires that any results you find contain BOTH keywords. The AND is used to narrow your search. Use it to connect two ideas that both need to be in the results you find. |
exercise
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OR | OR lets you search for either keyword at the same time. Use it when you have multiple keywords that are synonyms. |
nutrition |
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NOT | NOT excludes specific keywords. Be careful when using NOT: removing a keyword from your search results may eliminate useful comparison articles. | exercise NOT weight training |