Electronic Searching Techniques
	Techniques for Searching: Boolean & Beyond

Click on the links below for an explanation of each of the named electronic searching techniques.

You will often use combinations of these techniques in your search statements. For example, you might use truncation in an author field search, or you might search for a truncated term in both the title and subject fields, using a Boolean OR operator to combine them.

Not all databases support all of these techniques, and some databases have search features that are not explained here. Check the online help for each database to find out which techniques are supported and details of how to use them in that database. A librarian will be glad to help you.

When you have completed this section, you will ready to put together everything you have learned about databases and electronic searching. The Search Strategy Worksheet provides an excellent summary and step by step guidance for performing effective electronic searches. You will use it in some of the exercises for this OWL, and you may want to refer to it for electronic searches you do in the future.

Here are explanations of basic electronic search techniques:

• Truncation possibly the most useful technique to know
• Field-specific Searching helps you focus your search and avoid ambiguity
• Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT the basic building blocks of all search functions
• Boolean Logic: Nesting to make a complex Boolean search work properly