Skip to Main Content
Library Home

English 102: College Writing (Prof. Miller): Search Tips

Search Tips

This Tips to Save you Time: Find Info Fast PowerPoint presentation provides an overview of the library research process and commonly used keyword search tips. Generally, you will start your research with keyword searches, so it is a good idea to memorize these tips. You can also look for resource specific tips, such as the truncation symbol and date range limit, on the help screens of the database(s) being used and on the Research@UWW: Search Tips guide.

Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) by McMaster Libraries

Boolean Operators

The yellow areas on these diagrams show what you will find when you use different Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to connect your terms.

combine two terms with AND to get the records with both of them in them     combine terms with OR to find records with either or both terms in them     combine terms with NOT to find records with the first term in them, but not the second one

For more tips, see the Search Strategies: Boolean Operators and Search Symbols guide.

Get Help: Ask a Librarian