Journalism

Having a search strategy is important!

If you were researching the Quinnipiac Bobcats sports teams and you performed a keyword search for just the word "bobcat," you would get irrelevant search results, including information about bobcats (the animal) and Bobcat (the construction company):

So, how can you adjust your search to find more accurate results?!

• Your search is dependent on the keywords that you use in your query.

• Always brainstorm at least 5-10 keywords or phrases that relate to your topic before you begin searching.

• If you’re unsure of what keywords to use, browse subject headings, thesauri and indexes to get some ideas.

Once you've identified 5-10 keywords/concepts based on your research topic, you can build a complex search string by mixing and matching keywords using Boolean Logic. Remember to select 1-3 keywords/concepts to input into the search bar for the best results!

About Boolean Logic

Boolean logic is a powerful tool for refining search results. It involves using specific operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine keywords and phrases to:

• Connect your search terms together to either narrow or broaden your results
• Helps you piece together information to find exactly what you're looking for
• Yields more accurate results

Common words are used as logical operators:

• AND = results must meet both or all of the criteria
• OR = results must meet at least one of the stated criteria
• NOT = results do not contain the specified terms

Boolean Search Operator: AND

Boolean Search Operator: AND

Narrows your search Retrieve fewer results Results will include both (or all) keywords Connects unrelated concepts Examples: workplace AND diversity cat AND rabies

Boolean Search Operator: OR

Boolean Search Operator: OR

Broadens your search Retrieve more results Results will include one, or the other, or all terms Connects synonyms and related concepts Examples: (dog OR canine OR puppy) Bitcoin OR cryptocurrency

Boolean Search Modifier: Quotation Marks " "

• Use quotation marks to search for an EXACT phrase
• Keeps 2 or more words together

Example: "climate change" -- Without quotation marks, the database would separately search for supply AND chain, not necessarily those words together.

Boolean Search Strategy Examples

• Research Question: How do influencer marketing campaigns on social media impact brand sales?
• Some search strings you could input into the search bar of a library database are:
  • "social media" AND "influencer marketing"
  • TikTok AND marketing
  • influencer AND "brand sales"
  • "user-generated content" AND sales
  • (sales OR revenue) AND influencer

Try some of these suggestions to identify better search results. 

• Remember the singular and plural of a word may yield different search results, therefore use the * (asterisk symbol) after the root of the word and it will find all words with that root. 

  • For example: crim* will find crime, crimes, criminal, criminals, criminology, etc., but note that it will also find Crimea. 

• Use quotes around phrases. 

• Check for options to limit results, such as language, peer-reviewed, article, etc. 

• Use Ctrl F to search a word or phrase in an article OR use the PDF option  which is part of the printing, save bar. Click it and then the binoculars on the left  and enter term(s). 

• Recognize and incorporate subject headings.

• Read abstract of an article for a summary. 

• Click on author's name(s) for their other articles.

• Use the references or works cited or bibliography to identify additional articles. 

Scanning and skimming are essential when reading scholarly articles, especially at the beginning stages of your research or when you have a lot of material in front of you.

Many scholarly articles are organized to help you scan and skim efficiently. The next time you need to read an article, practice scanning the following sections (where available) and skim their contents:

Note: Not all articles contain all components.