A. "Developing a Research or Guiding Question" (by Arizona State University): This video will help you understand the difference between a topic and a research question. It will also help you develop good research questions.
B. "Generating and Using Keywords" (by Arizona State University): This video explains how to determine keywords/concepts. It also explains the importance of finding synonyms or related concepts.
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Concept 1 |
AND |
Concept 2 |
AND |
Concept 3 |
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Extract the major concepts from your research question. |
teenage |
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girls |
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“video games” |
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List alternatives for each concept:
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Search Terms |
Search Terms |
Search Terms |
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adolescent |
female |
“online games” |
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OR |
OR |
OR |
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teens |
“teenage girls” |
Nintendo |
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OR |
OR |
OR |
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OR |
OR |
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C. Watch "How Library Stuff Works: Boolean Operators (AND OR NOT) by McMaster University Library. This video explains how to combine search terms to narrow or broaden your search of library databases.
Topic: Climate change
Question: Are humans responsible for climate change?
a. Determine key words
1) Look at your main question
2) Other clues (terms found in sources)
b. Narrowing your search
1) Boolean search terms
2) Search shortcuts
3) Quotation marks, truncation and wildcards
Boolean Search Terms
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Explanation |
Example |
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AND |
Results (in blue) contain both terms Climate Change AND Cause |
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OR |
Results (all of both circles) contain either Climate Change OR Cause |
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NOT |
Results (Turquoise) containClimate Change NOT "Natural Cause" |
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Advanced Search Techniques
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Symbol |
Explanation |
Example |
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TRUNCATION |
* (Some databases might use: !, ?, or #) |
Helps to expand your search to include different word endings or other possible combinations |
Boy*= boys, boyfriend, boycott, etc. C*t= cat, caught, consent, etc. |
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WILDCARD |
! or ? |
Substitutes for a letter in a word. |
M!n= man, men Colo!r= color, colour |
