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Special Education

Montgomery Library's Guide to Special Education Resources

Advanced Searching with Boolean Operators (AND vs. OR)

AND vs. OR

Type these Boolean operators in ALL CAPS. This standard style of searching should work in any database.

AND searches for records that use both words. Use AND to narrow your search results:

   Titanic AND Smith

OR searches for records that use either word. Use OR to broaden your search results: 

   Titanic OR Olympic

  

Exact Phrase Searching

Enclose phrases in quotation marks to find items that include the exact phrase: 

 
   “White Star Line”

   “Harland & Wolff”

   “BruceIsmay”

   “Jennifer Hooper McCarty”

 
     

Nesting Your Search Terms

Think of the operations algebraically. The following will include search results about the Titanic’s rivets as well as the Titanic’s hull at the same time:

Titanic AND (rivet OR hull)

Titanic AND (McCarty OR rivet)

Titanic AND speed AND (Ismay OR Smith)

  

Combining Strategies

Try making advanced searches with various strategies at once.

Titanic AND (“life boat” OR lifeboat OR “life raft”)

Titanic AND (“Harland & Wolff” OR rivet)

“Harland & Wolff” AND (rivet OR iron OR steel)

 

 

The Three Rounds of Brainstorming

Brainstorming is not something that stops once you start reading sources and writing about them. Brainstorming should be repeated throughout the research and writing process. Multiple brainstorming sessions will deepen the quality of your thinking and your writing, and it is a common habit of professional writers.

Brainstorming the First Round of Search Terms

Write a list or web of synonyms for your topic as well as associated words, and then plug them into CU Search or another database. Also try using the brainstorming resources created at other universities linked here: 

 

Brainstorming the Second Round of Search Terms

If you have already found several sources related to your topic, then here are some strategies to deepen the quality of your search. Once you generate new keywords, don't forget to use them with Boolean operators (AND/OR/NOT) when searching. 

  • Study the abstract and/or introduction of the sources you have so far, and copy down terms that are significant, and then use those key terms for the next search.
  • Look at the citations at the end of the source you found. Write down keywords from the titles of those sources and then try to locate those cited sources. Looking at new sources can give you more keywords to use in your next search.
  • Try brainstorming other contexts where those concepts may be relevant, such as places, time periods, or sociocultural contexts. Then create Boolean search phrases for those different contexts, such as the following:
    • Bots AND "United States"
    • Bots AND Europe
    • Bots AND Russia
    • Bots AND China
    • Bots AND adolescents

 

 

Brainstorming the Third Round of Search Terms

Read several of your most relevant sources carefully, and analyze them deeply. This process will help you realize which concepts are most significant, and you will understand them better. 

  • Write a list of terms that emerge from your in-depth research.
  • Write a list of contexts where the topic seems to be relevant based on what you read. 
  • Then compose Boolean searches. At this point, you might try a subject search (learn more here) or a nested search (click to learn more).
  • If you have already started writing your paper, write a reverse outline and then think about weaknesses in your argument where you need more evidence and research. Then go back to your databases and search for more about those topics.

 

 

 

 

Sample Web of Terms Created Through Research

You might not be able to fill in this kind of web at first,  but after reading several sources, you should be more familiar with the terms that experts use when writing about your topic.