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Starting Your Research

A starting point for learning about how to conduct scholarly research using Library resources.

Search Strategies

On this page you will find several search strategies and techniques for getting the most out of your database searches. You can use some or all of the techniques if needed. We encourage you to test out different combinations to get the best results for your search. If you're struggling or haven't found exactly what you're looking for, get in touch with your subject librarian for help!

Search techniques & strategies help videos

Below you will find a playlist of help videos that demonstrate how to use various search strategies.

Starting your search: Narrowing your search

Search strategies help you narrow your search results when searching for research materials.

When searching databases or the Library Catalogue for research materials, consider the following:

Does your topic...

have distinctive words or phrases?

have NO distinctive words or phrases you can think of? You have only common or general terms that get the "wrong" pages.

seek an overview of a broad topic?

specify a narrow aspect of a broad or common topic?

have synonymous, equivalent terms, or variant spellings or endings that need to be included?

Continue scrolling to learn several techniques for refining your search results.

 

What's The Difference Between Keywords and Subject Headings?

A keyword search allows you to use your own words to describe what you're looking for. Keyword searching is how you typically search the Web using search engines like Google or Bing.

PROS of keyword searching:

  • Quick, easy to brainstorm
  • Good starting point for most types of research
  • Produces good results in certain databases (e.g., Google Scholar)
  • Flexible – allows you to combine terms together in many different ways
CONS of keyword searching:
  • Often produces too many or too few results
  • Results are not always relevant
  • May miss items that use different terms to talk about the same topic.
     

Subject headings describe the content of an item using terms that are standardized across a database. A subject heading search will return all items on that topic in a database.

To find out whether a particular database uses subject headings, look for a link labelled Thesaurus or Subject Terms. Many databases allow you to search or browse their subject headings.

PROS of subject headings:

  • Can be used to focus or expand your search
  • Produces highly relevant results in most databases
  • Returns all items on a given topic in a particular database, regardless of the terminology used in the article itself

CONS of subject headings:

  • Less flexible than keyword searching (e.g., you may have to combine multiple subject headings to describe your research topic)
  • Subject headings are different every database
  • Can be time consuming

 

Truncation & Wildcards

What is truncation?

Truncation allows you to search a root word and any variant endings of that word, including plurals.

For example:

chief* - would find chief, chiefs, chiefdom, chiefdoms, etc.

migrat* - would find migrate, migratory, migration, etc.

Use truncation to avoid having to think of (and type out) all possible variations of a word.

NOTE: Be careful not to truncate too far to the left. A root like art* will retrieve many, many records!

What are wildcards?

Wildcards allow for variations of spelling within a word. They can be used to search for single letter variations of a word. This is especially useful for picking up both Canadian/UK and American spellings. For example:

colo?r - will find both color and colour

M?cArthur – will find both MacArthur and McArthur

 

What are Boolean Operators?

Boolean operators are used to define the relationship between search terms.

They can be used to broaden or narrow a set of search results, and to improve the relevance of those results.

Most search tools, including scholarly databases and Web search engines, offer Boolean search options. If you're not sure whether a particular database supports Boolean searching, check the Help page.

Boolean Search Basics

There are three common Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT (it's best to capitalize Boolean operators because some search tools require it).

OR is used to join synonymous or related terms, and instructs the search tool to retrieve any record that contains either (or both) of the terms, thus broadening your search results.

The OR operator is particularly useful when you are unsure of the words used to categorize your topic or if information on your topic is even available. If you are retrieving too few records, broaden your search by adding a synonym with the Boolean Operator OR.

AND is used to join words or phrases when both (or all) the terms must appear in the items you retrieve.

This search query would return a much smaller set of records, and the items found would be more specific to your research question. If you are retrieving too many records, try adding another search term with the Boolean Operator AND.

NOT is used to exclude a particular word or combination of words from your search results.

If you are retrieving many records that are unrelated to your topic, try using the NOT operator to eliminate a word. This should be done cautiously, because as well as deleting the unwanted items, such a search will also eliminate records that discuss both the relevant topic as well as the unrelated topic.

Complex Boolean Searching

It is possible to perform complex Boolean searches in which more than one Boolean Operator is used. To do this, enclose the terms connected with OR within parentheses. For example:

"land claims" AND (indian OR native)

Using round brackets ( ) in a search statement tells the system the order in which to perform the search. Think back to doing math equations in school – the brackets work the same way in a database.

The brackets tell the computer that "Indian" and "Native" both represent the same concept. It looks for all records that contain either of these words, then finds which of these also contain the term "land claims". As a basic rule – always use ( )’s to combine words linked together with OR.

It's also possible to search for multiple synonyms using round backets and the OR operator. For example:

("comprehensive claims" OR "land claims") AND (indian OR native OR "first nations" OR indigenous)

Putting "double quotes" around a phrase will retrieve ONLY that exact phrase – without variation.

 

Limiters & Field-Specific Searching

What are limiters?

Most databases will allow you to limit your search results according to certain criteria. Common options include:

  • Publication date (or date range)
  • Publication type (e.g., book, newspaper, journal article)
  • Language
  • Peer review status (limits results to peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles)

You will often find these options below the main "Advanced search" fields, or on the side of your results page.

Limiters vary between databases. If you're not sure whether a particular option is available in a specific database, check the database's HELP page.

What is field-specific searching?

Most databases allow you to limit your search to a particular field, such as the item tite, author, subject, or abstract. You will find typically find these options in a drop-down menu next to the search field(s).

You can use field-specific searching to refine your search results according to specific criteria.