Searching electronic Resources Effectively

Bowman Library

Searching Electronic Resources Effectively

Searching Bowman Library’s electronic Research Databases differs in some ways from searching the free Web using Google or Yahoo, and doing so can be challenging when trying to figure out the most effective ways to search for information.

This guide presents some general tips to help you structure search statements that get results. Remember, the computer may be fast, but it's not SMART. It can't understand exactly what you are looking for unless the search statement or searching terms used are formatted in language and punctuation the database can understand. When searching, be sure all words are spelled correctly, and follow these two guidelines:

Learn the scope of the database

Find out what you can by reading the HELP screens on Research Databases or by asking a Librarian. Know what subjects and dates are covered. Sometimes you will only discover the scope of a database by exploring its contents; spend a little time searching it and make a note of your search results.

Learn how to format your search statement

Many Research Databases present the Basic search screen first, but using the Advanced search screen will help you fine-tune your search. Be sure to check under the HELP section of each database to determine the exact guidelines for formatting your search statement.

Here are some tips for common searching techniques that should help you search both electronic Research Databases and the free Web.

COMMON SEARCHING TECHNIQUES
Combining Search Terms With Boolean Logic The Boolean operators, AND, OR, NOT, are used to combine search terms in order to broaden or narrow your search. Available in electronic research databases: Yes Available in Web search tools: Some Web search tools support Boolean operators, while others use pluses (+) or minuses (-) to add or delete terms. Be sure to read the HELP or TIPS sections to determine the best way to combine search terms in a research database or a Web search tool.
Boolean Operator	What It Does	Example
AND	Decreases the number of documents retrieved. Creates a set of documents representing the intersection of the search terms. Most beneficial when combining dissimilar terms.	"Television AND Radio" will create a set of documents that contain the terms "Television" and "Radio" in each and every document.
OR	Increases the number of documents retrieved. Most effective when combining synonyms or similar concepts, such as auto OR car OR automobile.	"Television OR Radio" will create a set of documents that contain only the term "Television" and only the term "Radio" as well as documents containing both terms.
NOT	Decreases the number of documents retrieved by excluding a subset of documents from a set of documents. Be careful not to limit too much when using NOT. "Basketball NOT college" eliminates documents on any professional players that mention their alma maters. Make sure you know what you're throwing away!	"Television NOT Radio" will create a set of documents all containing the term "Television" but not including any documents containing the term "Radio."

Truncation

Truncation of the searching term provides a method for creating a set of documents containing terms with similar roots but different suffixes. It’s useful for retrieving terms as well as for retrieving their plural forms, particularly with full text searching.

Electronic Research Databases

Free Web SearchTtools

Availability

Yes

Not supported by all search tools. Check HELP screen.

Symbols Used

Asterisk (*) or dollar sign ($)

Example

“Child*” will retrieve “child,” “children,” “childhood.” Some databases use implied truncation, which automatically retrieves any variation of the search term.

Field Searching

Fields are sections of database records that help organize, or index, the information contained in a database. Field searching allows you to find documents based on this specific indexed information and can make your searching more precise.

Field Searching

Electronic Research Databases

Free Web Search Tools

Examples of fields available

Author, Article Title, Subject, Publication Title, Keyword, Full Text; field names differ in each database

URL, Page Title, Domain, Link

How accessed

Usually only available from the Advanced Search option. Often presented in a pull-down menu to the right of the search box.

Sometimes available from the Advanced Search option. Can sometimes be accessed by typing the field you want to search, followed by a colon, before your search query. For example, “link:www.Menlo.edu” will show Web pages with links to the Menlo College site. Check the HELP or Advance Search link of the Web search tool you are using for more information.

Limiting Options

Most research databases allow you to limit your search in a number of different ways, thus helping you narrow your search.

Examples of limiting options

Electronic Research Databases

Free Web Search Tools

Full Text

Results will include only documents with the full text of articles available in a particular database.

Free Web pages retrieved are always full text.

Date

Most research databases allow you to limit your search to a specific date or range of dates. All of the databases use different formats for entering dates and ranges of dates.

A few Web search tools allow you to limit your search by date, but it is the date the Web page was last checked by the search engine, not the date it was created.

Type of Publication

Some research databases offer the option to limit a search to kinds of publications, such as scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, or trade publications.

Type of Document

Many research databases provide menus that allow you to limit your search to specific kinds of documents, such as book reviews, movie reviews, editorials, speeches, interviews or product reviews.

Specialized search engines retrieve particular types of Free Web documents; for example, Yahoo maps, Google images, Google Scholar

Phrase Searching

Research databases and free web search tools allow phrase searching.

	Electronic Research Databases	Free Web Search Tools
More than one word in a search box	Assume you want to find documents in which all of the terms appear (the Boolean AND is assumed).	Assume you want to find documents in which all of the terms appear (the Boolean AND is assumed).
Order of words	Does not matter.	Does not matter.
How to search if words are a phrase	The preferred way to link words into a phrase is to use quotes, though some resources use a plus sign (+) or provide it as an option in a pull down menu.	Depending on search tool, can put phrase in quotes, join words with a plus sign (+), or search for exact phrase from advanced search.

Full Text Searching

	Electronic Research Databases	Free Web Search Tools
How searching occurs	Many research databases allow you the choice of searching for your term(s) in the entire full text of a document. Most helpful when searching unique terms. Often best to search the citation (title, subject(s), source) and/or abstract fields first. If this yields too few results, then search the full text.	Most free Web search engines automatically search the entire text of a Web site, while directories search only an index of words describing the Web page.

Help Screens

All of the Bowman Library Research Databases include HELP screens. Here are links to some of them:

Business and Company Resource Center

Emerald Fulltext

Historical New York Times (via ProQuest) -- Select "Search Tips"

LexisNexis Academic

ProQuest -- Select "Search Tips"

Wilson Select Plus -- Click on the question mark button to the right of each field for field-specific search tips.