The better you prepare for your search, the smoother your searching experience will be. Watch the video below to learn more about two helpful pre-search strategies: generating keywords and drafting Boolean searches.
RESEARCH QUESTION: Are electronic cars an affordable option for the average consumer?
| BOOLEAN OPERATOR | USE TO... | EXAMPLE |
| AND |
...search for items in which two or more terms which appear together. This will narrow your search. |
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| OR | ...search for items in which two or more terms appear together or separately. If you're working with a topic that can be described in many different ways, conducting an OR search will ensure that you don't exclude relevant items as a result of using too few search terms. This will broaden your search. |
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| NOT | ...search for items in which a specified term is excluded. This will narrow your search. |  |
| Complex Boolean Search |
...search for items by combining multiple boolean searches. Use parentheses to enclose individual searches. |
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