Combine Search Terms
Boolean Operators
Boolean Operators are words (AND, OR, NOT) that combine or exclude keywords in a search. This example illustrates how to include or remove subjects with keywords. The use of "quotation marks" allows you to search for specific phrases, in the exact order they are typed within the quotation marks. Try searching without and with the quotation marks for phrases you know will appear in the literature.
AND narrows your search
- "Montessori Method" AND curriculum retrieves resources with both terms
OR broadens your search
- "Montessori Method" OR "Montessori theory" finds resources with either term or both terms
NOT excludes terms
- "Montessori Method" NOT "Waldorf" excludes resources with the term typed after the NOT text.
Choose Search Terms
Key Concepts
Identify the key concepts of your topic and enter just those terms (not the full sentences) into the search box. For example, if you are investigating the current state gender in early childhood education your key concepts will be: Internet, communications, gender, gender-neutral.
Consider Synonyms, Broader Terms, Narrower Terms, and Related Terms:
For example, other terms for "early childhood education" could be used such as "preschool education," "elementary education," and Pre-K-5 education.
Subject Headings:
Articles are assigned subject headings. Use these as keywords to broaden or narrow your results. In many of the library's databases, you will find the list of assigned subject headings (sometimes called descriptors) in the record for the article. See the below image as an example of where you can find the subject headings:
Some databases offer a thesaurus that lists related subject headings. Usually, you can find a link to this list near the top of the page.
Phrase Searching:
To find an exact phrase, use double quotes, such as "social media" or "Malcolm X".
