Try these database search strategies to find relevant information efficiently.
Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT
- AND: for combining unrelated search terms (standardized tests AND anxiety)
- OR: for searching similar words (standardized tests OR SAT)
- NOT: for eliminating results (standardized tests NOT college students)
Phrase Searching
- Use quotation marks to search words as a complete phrase, like “standardized tests”
Keywords
- Don't search with a question like you might when you use Google. Remember to use specific keywords in the databases. Use the Subject Terms tool in a database like Academic Search Complete to help you identify those specific keywords.
- Use 2-3 keywords at a time
Limiters
- Full Text
- Peer reviewed
- Date Range
- Format types (academic journal, newspaper, magazine, opinion, etc.)
Search Multiple Databases at Once
- Search all EBSCO databases at once: go to EBSCO Databases and click the Select All checkbox.
- Search all Gale databases at once: go to Gale Power Search.
