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First Year Seminar (FYS) Research Guide: Search vs Research

Keywords

Make a list to keep track of keywords related to your topic. Keep it by your side when you start your research.

The keywords you use can have a profound impact on the results of your research. Using the “right” words will speed up the research process, while the “wrong” words can bring to it to a screeching halt.

If the keywords you choose initially do not give you the results you need, revise your keywords as needed.

Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT)

Boolean searching is the traditional way to search for information in most online databases and on the Internet. Boolean operators or connector words, such as AND, OR, and NOT, are used to create phrases and concepts based on specific rules of search logic.  

  Operator   Examples Results
AND


business AND ethics
cooking AND Spain

    Retrieves records that contain    
ALL of the search terms.
OR


hotels OR motels
www OR world wide web
theater OR theatre

 Retrieves records that contain
ANY of the search terms, but
does not necessarily include
all of them.
NOT


java NOT coffee
   Clinton NOT (William OR Bill)    

 Excludes records containing
the second search term.

Search vs Research

This video is developed by Kansas State University Libraries.

How to Develop a Good Research Topic

This video is developed by Kansas State University Libraries.