Research Guides: Applied Psychology: General Search Tips

Advanced Searching Techniques

Most databases support these techniques, but sometimes the syntax or symbol used varies. If in doubt, check the Help section of the database.

Search Technique	Symbol	Examples	Retrieves
Phrase Searching Useful when you have a string of words that must appear next to each other in an exact order in your search statement.	Most search engines use quotation marks around phrases.	“urban renewal”	Articles where the exact phrase "urban renewal" is present.
Truncation Allows you to search for variations of a word. Remember that when you search, a database is looking for an exact match for your term, so using truncation can increase the flexibility of your search.	Most databases use the asterisk. However, some use a different symbol. Most notably, LexisNexis uses the exclamation point.	parent*	Articles with any of the following words: parent, parents, parenting, parental
Wildcards Allows you to search for variations of a word where the difference may be within the word as opposed to at the end of the word. This technique is most useful when searching for plurals that do not use an "s" (e.g., woman vs. women) or when searching for articles in which there may be slightly different British spelling (e.g., color vs. colour).	Some databases use the asterisk, others use the question mark. Check the help section to determine which symbol is use.	wom?n	Articles with any of the following words: woman, women, womyn

Search Technique

Symbol

Examples

Retrieves

Phrase Searching

Useful when you have a string of words
that must appear next to each other in an
exact order in your search statement.

Most search engines use quotation marks around phrases.

“urban renewal”

Articles where the exact phrase "urban renewal" is present.

Truncation

Allows you to search for variations of a
word. Remember that when you search,
a database is looking for an exact match
for your term, so using truncation can
increase the flexibility of your search.

Most databases use the asterisk. However, some use a different symbol. Most notably, LexisNexis uses the exclamation point.

parent*

Articles with any of the following words: parent, parents, parenting, parental

Wildcards

Allows you to search for variations of a
word where the difference may be within
the word as opposed to at the end of the
word. This technique is most useful when
searching for plurals that do not use an "s"
(e.g., woman vs. women) or when searching
for articles in which there may be slightly different British spelling (e.g., color vs. colour).

Some databases use the asterisk, others use the question mark. Check the help section to determine which symbol is use.

wom?n

Articles with any of the following words: woman, women, womyn

Using Boolean Operators

Getting Started With Boolean

Using Boolean operators -- **AND, OR, NOT** -- is a great way to further refine your searches.
Boolean Operator	Search Example	Retrieves
AND A good way to limit/refine your search. Decreases your results.	rivers AND salinity	Retrieves articles that contain both the words river and salinity.
OR A good way to expand your search. Useful if you have synonyms that you would like to search for. Increases your results.	fruit OR vegetables	Returns articles that contain either the word fruits or vegetables.
NOT A good way to limit your search. Allows you to exclude terms from your search results.	fruit NOT apples	Returns articles that *contain the word fruits* but do not contain the word apples.**

Advanced Boolean: Putting It All Together

In the above examples, we showed the use of Boolean operators with 2 search terms; however, you can join any number of terms with Boolean operators.

Parentheses!

In the examples below, you'll notice that we use parentheses to group search terms and operators. The parentheses tell the search engine how to read your search statement. Remember when you learned about order of operations in math and using parentheses? Same concept.

Search Example	Retrieves	Venn Diagram
Europe AND dairy products AND export	Articles that contain all of the following words: dairy products, Europe, and export.
canoeing AND (kayaking OR sculling)	Articles that contain the both of the words canoeing and sculling; also brings back articles that contain both of the words canoeing and kayaking.
South America AND (puma OR panther) NOT Brazil	Articles that contain the terms South America and Puma; articles that contain the terms South America and Panther. Will not bring back articles with the term Brazil.