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SPARK: Student Papers and Academic Research Kit: Constructing Searches

A guide to successful academic papers.

Constructing Searches

Once you have developed keywords for each concept, to conduct the actual search you will want to combine these keywords using standard search operators: AND, OR and NOT. Doing so allows you to broaden or narrow your search as appropriate. There is usually no one perfect combination of keywords and you will likely run multiple searches. Consider the illustrated combination of keywords, and search operators (AND, OR, NOT) for the following:

“Choose one aboriginal group and discuss its challenges in asserting control over ancestral land”

Table with examples of combining search terms

A search using this combination will return results that include resources where aboriginals, ancestral lands and autonomy (or their related keywords) are present, but will exclude from those results any resources where the keyword United States is present.

And

Used to find sources that include all of the distinct keywords. Results in a narrower, more focussed search and fewer results. In the example, aboriginals AND ancestral lands AND autonomy will return results for resources in which all keywords are present.

aboriginals

AND

ancestral land

AND

autonomy

Or

Used to find sources that include any of the keywords. Results in a broader search and more results. In the example, aboriginals OR First Nations OR indigenous peoples will return results for resources in which any one (or more) of the keywords are present.

aboriginals

OR

First Nations

OR

indigenous peoples

Not

Used to exclude sources containing certain keywords from your search. Results in a narrower search and fewer results. In the example, aboriginals NOT United States will return results for resources in which the keyword aboriginals is present but the keyword United States is not present.

aboriginals

NOT

United States

More on Searching

Online Search Tips

Boolean Connectors

Boolean connectors like AND and OR help us combine keywords for an effective online search.

Adding "AND" between keywords will narrow your results to only articles containing both keywords.

For example, obesity AND children AND school lunches:
 

Using Boolean Connector AND

Adding "OR" broadens the search to find articles containing words that mean the same thing (synonyms). For example, obese OR overweight:
 

Using Boolean Connector OR

For a more powerful search, combine AND and OR phrases with parenthesis () to group words together.

For example:
 

combine AND and OR phrases‌‌

Advance Search Techniques

You can maximize your online searching power by using some of the following advanced techniques:

  • Truncation - Most databases allow you to search for variations of words by adding a * or ? symbol after the root of the word: 
    Example: child? = child, children, childhood, etc.
    Check the database "help" feature to find out which symbol to use.
  • Phrase Searching - Use quotation marks " " to search for two or more words in a phrase together. 
    Example: "childhood obesity"
    NOTE: Some databases or search engines do this automatically when you type words next to each other. Check the "help" feature if you are not sure.
  • Field Searching - Search for keywords in the specific parts of an article, like the title or abstract (summary).

    Field Searching

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