Getting started
Choosing the right database
Search terms
Start your search
General search tips
Advanced search tips
Database search tips
Getting started
You teacher or lecturer has given you an assignment topic and you know you need database articles but:
- Where do you start?
- How do you effectively search?
This guide will offer search tips to assist you in getting the best out of most databases or search engines. Remember that not every database uses the same search methods so, if in doubt, always check out the help or search tips page for each database. In most instances, these are found at the top or bottom (sometimes both) of every database page.
Choosing the right database
The key to choosing the right datase is to select one that is appropriate for your topic. Some are quite specific, like the GALE Biography Resource Centre, and some are quite general, like the GALE Infotrac Onefile. Use the subject areas below to get started. Each has a general description of what kind of resources you can find. You can also browse a complete list of databases Manukau Libraries offers:
Search terms
- Narrow your assignment topic into simple keywords: e.g. 'Find an easy to use kitchen science experiment that you can do at home' could become: easy kitchen science experiment. Notice how we've stripped out all of the 'non-essential' words to form the basis of our search.
- Use nouns if you can: name of a person, place, action, thing or quality
- Think about other words, or related terms, that you could use. For example, if your assignment is about puppies you can also use the word dogs, if your assignment is about healthy foods you can also use the word nutrition.
Start your search
The effectiveness of the database results depends on the way search terms are put together. The following general search tips will be very useful for quick keyword searches and can be used in the databases aimed specifically at kids and teens.
General search tips
- Boolean operators: Boolean operators are called connectors because they can determine how lots of search terms work. The most common Boolean search connectors are and, or and not.
- And: will find articles containing all of your entered search term
Example: fish and chips and vinegar returns articles containing all of these words.
- Not: will exclude words from your results.
Example: fish not chips will only result in articles that include the word fish but only if it does not contain the word chips.
- Or: will find articles that contain at least one of your entered search terms. Use it to combine closely related terms.
Example: cats or kittens returns articles that contain either word.
- Case sensitivity: A lot of search engines aren't case sensitive - this means that upper case, lower case and mixed case are all the same. Keep in mind, though, that some databases are able to match exact case.
If not using 'Advanced search tips' then move 'Truncation' and 'Wild cards' up to 'General search tips' section
Advanced search tips:
These search tips are more specific and are intended for the more advanced (or adult) database user.
- Truncation: can be used in most databases. This is where a symbol - usually an asterisk - is used to replace remaining letters.
Example: market* will find articles containing any variation: marketing, markets, marketer, marketers.
- Wild cards: can also be used in most databases. This is where a symbol - usually a question mark - is used to replace replace a single letter in the middle of a word. Their function is to accommodate spelling variations.
Example: organi?ation will look for all articles that use both organisation and organization.
- Nesting: The order in which search engines execute your commands is not always obvious. You can use round brackets to control the search sequence.
Example: the search term fish and (chips or food or diet ) will find documents that contain one of the words in brackets - i.e. chips or food or diet - but only if they also contain the word 'fish.'
- Proximity operators: will locate terms that are close to one another. One such proximity operator is w/#, which you can use to find two words that are # number of pages apart.
Example: fish w/3 chips will find only articles where fish and chips occur within three words of one another, in either order.
- Searching specific fields: Field searching allows you to designate where to search for a specific term. Sometimes there is a drop-down menu to select the field, at other times a field 'qualifier' is added to the search term, such as Smith:au or Smith in au.
- Phrase searching: Some databases will treat two or more words entered into the search box as a phrase, while others require you to place a phrase in double quotation marks.
Example: "fish and chips" will only find articles where the whole phrase is present.