Clearly state your research topic
Identify each specific concept
Plan your combination of terms using the Boolean operators AND, OR or NOT
Decide which database(s) to use to begin your search
1 - Truncation or Wild Card
Use the asterisk or star (*) as a wildcard to find alternative word endings. For example, type "nurs*" to find articles containing the words nurse, nurses or nursing.
2 - Narrow or broaden a search by using Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT
An interactive tool for visualizing the effects of Boolean operators on keyword searches.