Using the Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine keywords in a database search allows you to narrow or expand your search. To build a complex search using two or more Boolean operators, you will need to learn the advanced technique of nesting (see Creating a Search Query for more details).
In the Venn diagrams below, the area retrieved is the yellow (or most lightly shaded) area.
Use AND to narrow a search. BOTH terms must be present in any references you retrieve.
Use OR to expand a search. Your search will retrieve records with EITHER of the terms.
OR is most often used to combine synonyms or like terms.
Use NOT to exclude a term. Records with the first term will be retrieved, but any records with the second term will be eliminated.
Use quotation marks around multi-word nouns or phrases when doing a search.
Example: “investigative reporting” or “Vietnam War.” Phrasing forces the database to see the phrase as if it is one word.
Many databases permit certain punctuation to be used to search for multiple word endings. In most databases use the asterisk to truncate. In the Library Catalog use the question mark. Use the HELP page in each database for details.
Example: child*(in SmartSearch) will find child, children, child’s and other words with the root word “child.”
Citation Chasing
Cited Reference Searching
Cited reference searching involves finding out how many other sources have cited the source you’ve found since it was published
You can use the "cited by" feature in Google Scholar to find other sources that have cited your source.
Some databases also have a "cited reference search" feature you can use. For example, there is a "cited references" tab along the top bar of the Academic Search Complete database.
