Communication Studies
Still Not Getting the Results You Want?
Review our instructions on identifying keywords and creating effective search statements and our tips on improving your search:
Using AND
Use AND in your search to:
- Narrow down your results
- Find sources that have ALL of your search terms
Example: French Revolution AND Enlightenment
The green space represents the results for this search.
Using OR
Use OR in your search to:
- Connect 2 or more similar terms (synonyms)
- Broaden your results (so that your results have either search term)
Example: French Revolution OR Reign of Terror
The green space represents the results for this search.
Quick Tricks
* Add this symbol onto the root of a word to find results that use all variations of that word.
Example: Religio* = religion, religions, religous, religiosity
"..." Place quotation marks around search terms or a search phrase to seach for that exact phrase.
Example: "Liberty, equality, fraternity"
( ) Use parentheses to nest similar terms or to ensure the database will search your terms in the correct order.
Example: French Revolution AND (aristocracy OR monarchy)
Using NOT
Use NOT in your search to:
- Exclude a word from your search
- Narrow down your results, telling the system not to include any results with that term
Example: Revolution NOT American