Doing Research in the Andersen Library, UW-Whitewater Martha Stephenson Reference & Instruction Librarian

Tips to Save You Time: Find Info Fast

Thesis, Issue, Question What are the health benefits of dark chocolate?

HealthBenefits Dark chocolate dietblood pressurecacao nutritionphysical fitnesscocoa weightmemoryantioxidants caloriesheart diseaseflavonols BRAINSTORM

Keyword Tip #1: Use AND AND ◦ Use to connect different concepts ◦ Both concepts will be in the results ◦ Narrows search (finds fewer, more on target results) chocolate Finds=114 chocolate AND diet Finds=3

Keyword Tip #2: Use OR OR ◦ Use to connect similar concepts ◦ At least one term will be in the results ◦ Broadens search (finds more results, is more thorough) ◦ Saves time by doing several searches in one chocolate Finds=114 chocolate OR cacao OR cocoa Finds=141

Keyword Tip #3: Phrases Quotation Marks “ ” ◦ Use when words often or always occur in a specific order ◦ All words inside the quotes will be in the results, in the exact order used ◦ Narrows search (finds fewer, more on target results) heart AND disease Finds=217 “heart disease” Finds=162

Keyword Tip #4: Use Truncation Truncation ◦ Use to find various endings of a word ◦ Place symbol at the end of the root word ◦ Broadens search (finds more results) ◦ Symbol varies amongst databases ◦ Be careful of placement! diet* = diet, diets, dietary, & 22 other words cat* = cat, cats, catatonic, catalytic, catastrophic, & 250 other words (better search would be cat OR cats)

Keyword Tip #5: Combinations Nesting in Databases ◦ Use to assure search runs correctly when using both ANDs & ORs ◦ Like in algebraic equations ◦ Place OR phrase in parentheses (chocolate* OR cacao) AND diet*