Tips for Online Searching

Search effectiveness can depend on database selection, database coverage, term selection, spelling and many other variable factors. If your search is unsuccessful, make sure you are in the right database and are using the right search terms.

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• General Tips
  • Make sure there are no spelling errors in the word(s) or phrases(s) you type.
  • Use the right kind of search:
  • Author and title searches look for known items.
  • Most databases default to a keyword search. This search looks for your terms anywhere in the articles. If you enter two or more words(e.g. high school security) the database will find these words only together and in this exact order.
  • If you choose a subject search, then the database will look for your terms in a predetermined set of subject headings. This works great if you choose the right subject term; if not, you may get zero results. It's a good idea to browse subject headings if possible or start with a keyword search and note subject headings in the records relevant to your search.
  • Use Boolean operators in a keyword search
    • Using "and" will find all your words, but they may appear in different parts of the article and in any order. (For example, "school and security"). This will narrow your search.
    • Using "or" will find either term and maybe both. (For example, "school or college"). This will broaden your search.
    • Using "not" will exclude a concept. For example, the statement "school security not college" will exclude articles containing the word "college" and make your search narrower and more focused.
• Too Few Results
  • Select your terms carefully
    • Do you need information about the specific concept described by your term (Macintosh)  or a broader concept (computers)?
  • Think of synonyms and related terms
    • If you are typing "euthanasia," you will miss all valuable articles that talk about the same topic, but use the phrase "physician assisted suicide." Connect the related terms and synonyms with "or" - for example, "euthanasia or assisted suicide or physician assisted suicide." If you cannot think of any synonyms or related terms, use dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference sources or get research assistance from a librarian.
  • Use the truncation character
    • Truncation is the addition of a symbol to a word root to retrieve variant endings. Many databases use an asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol. For example, educat* will retrieve educator, education, educational. Check the database Help section or see on-screen examples for the symbols used in a particular database.
  • Find related material by following hyperlinks
    • When you look at a record, you might see that certain fields (author, subject, call number) are hyperlinked. Following the links may help find related material.
  • Try a different database
    • If you are searching the UC Library Catalog and finding too few books, try the OhioLINK catalog.
    • If you are searching an index for journal or newspaper articles, try a different index. For example, you will find some articles about attention deficit disorder (ADD) in a general index like Academic Search Premier; you will find many more in an education index like Education Abstracts or in a medical database.
• Too Many Results
  • Select your terms carefully
  • Be specific. If you are doing research about first year students, use "freshmen" or "first year students" rather than just "students."
  • Use additional concepts to narrow your search
  • Combine terms describing your topic using "and" - for example, "students and stress." Your terms will be found in the same record, but possibly in different fields. A word of caution: combining too many terms will limit your results or may result in no matches. Start with a few essential terms and narrow down as needed.
  • Exclude concepts
    • You can exclude certain concepts by using the words "not" (or in some databases "and not") - for example, "freshman and not high school" will eliminate records with the "high school."
  • Use phrase searching
    • Phrase searching means that you are looking for the words together and in the exact order. Some databases suggest that you enclose a phrase in double quotation marks - for example, "college students." In some databases you can select the phrase option from a drop-down menu.
  • Use the limiters
    • Look for the database limiters or modifying features that will help you to limit your results by date, language, full text availability or to scholarly sources. Once you set limits they may remain in effect until you clear them.
• Irrelevant results
  • Select your terms carefully
    • The terms that you typed may be too narrow, too broad, or may have multiple meanings. The term stress may find titles like "Handbook of Residual Stress and Deformation of Steel," and "Managing Workplace Stress." Include additional concepts to narrow your search or exclude concepts.
  • Make sure you are using the right database
    • If you are looking for articles in journals or newspapers, you should be searching an index or database. You can look up a database by title in an A-Z list or by subject under Subject Guides.
    • If you are looking for a journal title, see this search tip.
    • If you are looking for books, videos, print journals or other items, you should start with the UC Library Catalog, and then search the OhioLINK Catalog or other catalogs if needed. The Find Media page lists databases for funding images, sound and multimedia files.
  • Use phrase searching
    • When you do a keyword search for several terms connected with "and," your terms may appear in different fields, and you may retrieve records that have nothing to do with your actual topic. To avoid this, search for the terms as a phrase.
  • Use proximity operators
    • Proximity operators (near, w/#) find words within a specified range in either order. For example, "illiteracy w/2 adult*" will find "illiteracy" and "adults" within two words of each other, for example, " illiteracy among adults," "adult population illiteracy." Check the database Help section on on-screen examples to see if proximity operators are used.