Overview
Description: Library databases work differently from general search engines like Google. Knowing a few basic search techniques can help you find more relevant academic sources while spending less time sorting through unrelated results.
The Database Search Tips guides introduce common strategies that can be used across many library databases, including choosing effective keywords, combining search terms, searching phrases, and using database search fields.
Estimated Time of Completion (ETOC): 3–5 minutes to review this overview. Individual guides may take an additional 5–10 minutes.
Database Search Tips
Use the guides below to learn about specific search techniques.
Boolean Operators
Learn how to use AND, OR, and NOT to combine search terms and control your search results.
Example:teenagers AND social media AND sleep
[Learn about Boolean Operators →]
Truncation
Learn how truncation symbols can help you search for multiple forms of the same word at once.
Example:adolescen*
This may retrieve results containing terms such as adolescent, adolescents, and adolescence.
[Learn about Truncation →]
Keywords & Subject Terms
Learn how to identify the main concepts in your research question, select useful keywords, find synonyms, and use database subject terms.
Example topic:
How social media affects teen sleep
Possible concepts include:
- social media
- teenagers
- sleep
[Learn about Keywords & Subject Terms →]
Database Fields
Learn how to focus your search by searching specific parts of a database record, such as the title, author, subject, or abstract.
[Learn about Database Fields →]
Phrase Searching
Learn how quotation marks can be used in many databases to search for words together as an exact phrase.
Example:"social media"
[Learn about Phrase Searching →]
Stop Words
Learn why some common words may be ignored by databases and how removing unnecessary words can improve your search.
[Learn about Stop Words →]
Putting the Techniques Together
You will often use several search techniques at the same time.
For example, instead of searching a full research question such as:
How does social media affect the sleep habits of teenagers?
you might build a database search like:
social media AND (teenagers OR adolescents) AND sleep
As you search, try different combinations of keywords and techniques. Research is an iterative process, so your search will often change as you discover new terminology and sources.
Troubleshooting
If you are getting too many results:
- Add another important concept using AND.
- Try a more specific keyword or phrase.
- Use database filters such as publication date, source type, or subject.
- Search within a specific field such as the title or subject.
If you are getting too few results:
- Try synonyms or related terms.
- Combine similar terms using OR.
- Remove unnecessary search terms.
- Try truncation to search multiple word endings.
- Make sure you are not making the search unnecessarily specific.
If you are getting irrelevant results:
- Review the keywords you are using.
- Try database subject terms.
- Search important concepts within specific database fields.
- Look at useful articles you already found for additional terminology.
Still Need Help?
Research librarians can help you develop search terms, select databases, find sources, and improve your search strategy.
[Ask a Librarian →]
You can also access databases, journals, ebooks, and other research resources through the [Virtual Library →].