LibGuides: Education Research Jump Start: Search Techniques

Use the Search Box Options Better

Phrase search	Use quotation Marks around your phrase
Truncation (sometimes called “wild card”) Example: photo* looks for photo, photograph, photography, photographer, etc…	Use an asterisk (*) with a word stub
Choose a field to search Often searching the ABSTRACT, SUBJECT, or TITLE field will narrow your search (An ABSTRACT is a summary of the article)	Drop-down menus
Resource category limiters When was it published? Scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles only? Etc.	Drop-down menus or check boxes
Boolean operators –see examples below Family AND sibling will find fewer results Family OR sibling will find more results Family NOT sibling will eliminate certain results	Drop-down menus

Change the terms you use in your search. Sometimes by using a synonymous word, you'll get a very different results list.
Use fewer search terms. A search looking for all the words diabetes women Dominican elderly insulin therapy will have fewer results than a search for the single word diabetes. Removing search terms will make your search more general.
Remove limiters. Limiters (such as date and format) give you a more targeted results list, but sometimes limit your results too much.
Try searching in a database that specializes in a certain subject. You can look in discipline-specific databases (click on the "subjects" drop-down menu) and you can consult research guides created by Hostos librarians. Be flexible and willing to try several different databases.
Think more broadly about your topic. For example, if you're researching gentrification in the South Bronx, you might broaden your search to look at gentrification in cities more generally.