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US History - 10th Grade Spring Research Paper, Dr. Johnson: Keywords

Search Strategy Builder

This tool is designed to teach you how to create a search string using Boolean logic. Cut and paste the search string results into the search box of a library database or search engine.

  Concept 1 and Concept 2 and Concept 3
Name your concepts here    
Search terms Search terms Search terms
List alternate terms for each concept.

These can be synonyms, or they can be specific examples of the concept.

Use single words, or "short phrases" in quotes

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

Cut and paste the results above into the search box of a library database or search engine.
 
Developed by the University of Arizona Libraries and is used under a Creative Commons License.

Creating Search Strings

Boolean Operators - The Boolean operators And, Or, and Not logically combine search terms:

  • Limit results - And - A record must match both the term before and the term after the operator to be included in the search results.
  • Expand results - Or - A record can match either the term before or the term after the operator, or both, to be included in the search results.
  • Limit results - Not - A record must match the term before the operator, but not the term after the operator, to be included in the search results. 

First Steps

Before you start searching

  • think about your topic
  • break down your topic into concepts or keywords
  • think of synonyms for each keyword or concept
  • keep your mind open to new or alternative words that describe your topic.
  • Identifying search terms (keywords)
  • Be aware of the different scripts a foreign word may have (al-Qaeda, al-Qa‘ida, al-Qaidah, etc.)

Identifying Keywords

The keywords you use can have a profound impact on the results of your research. Using the “right” words will speed up the research process, while the “wrong” words can bring to it to a halt.

Before you can begin searching for information, you need to identify keywords related to your topic. Key terminology can be found by scanning: 

  • Your research questions
  • Articles found from background research
  • Bibliographies found at the end of books and articles
  • Brainstorm keywords with a librarian, your instructor, or a friend.

Search Strategies

Break down your question into keywords:

How is youth culture depicted in Chinese cinema?

Think of synonyms: 

youth, teen*, adolescent, child*

cinema, film, movies

Chinese, China

Connect synonym using OR combine terms using AND:

(youth OR teen* OR adolescent OR child*) AND (cinema OR film OR movies) AND (China OR Chinese)

Search Tips