A search strategy is a structured plan of action to effectively and efficiently search for information
Search Strings
To retrieve the most relevant search results, you will need to construct a search string.
A search string is a combination of keywords, truncation symbols, and Boolean operators you enter into the search box of a library database or search engine.
When choosing search terms, consider synonyms and related terms or phrases. Try making a mind map with terms on the subject that come to mind.
Tips:
Keywords – Synonyms
Tip: it is good practice to capitalise search operators as some databases require this.
Boolean Operator - AND
Boolean Operator - OR
Boolean Operator - NOT
Brackets ()
Quotations “”
Phrase searching
Combining Multiple Operators
Synonym for kids (children, adolescents, teenagers)
Nesting lets you run all three of those searches at once. Here's how to create a nested search string:
1. Start by typing all of your keywords out, keeping all of the similar keywords (or synonyms) together. In our example, the similar terms are the ones that refer to the age of the children.
2. Now place parentheses around the similar terms.
3. Connect all of your similar or interchangeable terms with OR.
4. Connect any of the other keywords to each other (and to your parentheses) with AND.
5. Click search!
I hope this explanation helped you gain a better understanding of the fundamentals of Boolean search and made it less daunting to tackle in the future. There are, of course, several other Boolean modifiers you can use to further refine and improve your Boolean searches, as well as many more rules for the use of Boolean in various other search engines and databases.
The wild card is usually represented by a question mark (?) which replaces one character only e.g. ne?t will find all citations containing neat, nest, or next (but not net because one character must be replaced).
Truncation is usually represented by an asterisk (*) which replaces any number of characters. Enter the root of a word and replace the ending with a *
Take care not to truncate too soon e.g. Comp* finds not only computers and computing but also company, companies, component, comparison etc.
Warning Try not to overuse truncation as you may overload the search engine and return an error message! Some databases will only allow limited use of the * symbol.
Proximity searching allows you to locate one word within a certain distance of another. The symbols generally used in this type of search are w and n.
The w represents the word "with(in)" and the n represents the word "near." This type of search is not available in all databases.
Near Operator (Nx) — finds words within x number of words from each other, regardless of the order in which they occur.
Example: television n2 violence would find "television violence" or "violence on television," but not "television may be the culprit in recent high school violence."
Within Operator (Wx) — finds words within x number of words from each other, in the order they are entered in the search.
Example: Winston w2 Churchill would find Winston Churchill or Winston S. Churchill, but would not find Churchill Winston.
Too many results? Try focusing the search field on words in the title.
Too few results? Try broadening your scope by searching for words within the full text of the articles. This is particularly useful if you are looking for a more obscure word or phrase.
Search Example: Is there a link between childrens’ diet and behaviour?
diet* OR nutrition* OR food* OR meal* OR eat* |
Select a search field |
|
AND |
child* OR infan* OR “early years” |
Select a search field |
AND |
behaviour* OR behavior* |
Select a search field |
Or, if there is only one search box available:
(diet* OR nutrition* OR food* OR meal* OR eat*) AND (child* OR infan* OR “early years”) AND (behaviour* OR behavior*) |
Search Example: Explore the reasons why university students are becoming more stressed
stress* OR burnout OR “burn out” OR pressur* |
Select a search field |
|
AND |
student* OR undergraduate* OR postgraduate* |
Select a search field |
AND |
universit* OR “higher education” |
Select a search field |
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