Creating a Search Statement: Boolean

Information Overload

Finding reliable information

Library Databases

Researching a topic

Is television to blame for

teenagers who behave violently?

Combine concepts

television AND violence

teenagersAND

Is television to blame for teenagers who behave violently?

Boolean Operators:

And: Combines Concepts

Synonyms/Closely Related Words

Hispanics: kids: obesity:

Common knowledge

Subject Terms/Thesaurus

words from abstracts

Synonyms/Closely Related Words

Hispanics: Mexican-American, Latinos, Chicanos kids: youth, children, teenagers, toddlers,

adolescent obesity: fat, overweight

television: violence: teenagers:

Select words to express concept.

Is television to blame for teenagers who behave violently?

AND

televisionORTV

violenceOR

angerOR

bully

AND

teenagersOR

minorsOR

youth

Boolean Operators:

OR: Combines Synonyms

Boolean Searching – Week One

Write a clear statement about topic

Divide topic statement into concepts

Find synonyms for keywords

Boolean Search Statement

Is television to blame for teenagers who behave violently

televisionOR

media

violenceOR

anger

teenagersOR

YouthOR

minors

AND

AND

Expanding your Search

Truncation retrieves the various (variant) forms of a word

Example: industrial

Truncate: Industr*

To truncate in databases, use [shift] and

asterisk *

Truncate the following terms:

sexist

disability

education

sexism: sexis*

includes: sexist, sexists, sexism

disability: disab*

includes: disabled, disability, disabilities

education: educat*includes: educating, educated, educator

Example 2

Is there racial inequality in the

workplace?

Divide Statement into Concepts

Is there racial inequality in the workplace?

AND ANDinequality workpla

ceracial

Select words to express each concept

AND

workplace

OR

employment

OR

jobs

AND

race

OR

ethnic

OR

minority

Is there racial inequality in the workplace?

inequality

OR

discrimination

OR

prejudice

Search in Academic Search Elite

Default: Select a Field

Narrow search to words only found in the:

Title

Abstract

Article retrieved by searching Title in Academic Search Elite

Article retrieved by searching Abstract in Academic Search Elite

Boolean Searching

Write out your topic as a sentence

Divide topic into main concepts

Select additional words to express each concept

Truncate where appropriate

In order to search in Library Databases you must first:

Write out your topic in one or two sentences Select your topic main concepts

2 to 4 main concepts Concepts = poverty, Internet, obesity,

college When you use: increase, type of,

improve, caused = list out how it would be measured

Edit: Select a Field (optional)

To narrow Title Subject Terms

To broaden: must use truncation and synonyms first Abstract All Text