UNI 110: Critical Thinking and Inquiry

1. Search Smarter with the Right Tools
While many people use Google to search for information, it’s often not the best tool for academic research. Google does not have access to most of the scholarly articles in ASU Library’s databases, and when it does, you are often asked to pay for that access. Instead, try searching in ASU Library’s One Search or specific subject databases to find high-quality scholarly resources.

You can still use Google in smart ways to find good information. See the Find Articles and Information in Library Research Databases page for tips.

2. Use Search Strategies to Find Better Results
Wherever you are searching, use the keywords you gathered during your background research. Combine them with Boolean operators — AND, OR, NOT — to make your search more powerful. You can also use filters (such as by date, by subject, or peer-reviewed) to narrow your results. You can find more sources by checking the works cited page, references section, or the bibliography of articles and books.

See the rest of this page for examples of how to do this strategic searching!

3. Save What You Find

When you find a valuable source:

• If it is online, copy the permalink URL to the item record, create a citation, and/or download the article.
• If it is a physical book or journal, write down the call number and the ASU Library location so you can find it or request an item pick-up.
• If you have trouble accessing an online or physical source, don’t hesitate to ask for help at a Library Information Desk or through Ask a Librarian.

4. Why This Matters
Using better search strategies will save you time, help you find higher-quality sources, and make the research process easier and more efficient.

You will have better success finding good materials for your assignments in ASU Library’s databases if you use Boolean operators to combine the keywords you found while looking for background information for your research question. Boolean operators are terms that you combine with your keywords to narrow or broaden your searches in One Search, Google Scholar, subject databases, and elsewhere. 

Searching in library databases differs from searching in Google, which lets you search by a description or sentence. While databases can sometimes handle full sentences or descriptions, they are designed to work best when you search using important keywords connected by the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT.

Why this matters: Using Boolean operators makes your searches more focused and effective.

AND

Use AND in between words in a search to:

• Narrow your results
• Tell the database that you want ALL search terms included in the results

EXAMPLE: Self esteem AND Teens

Searches for self esteem AND teens will retrieve items that contain both the concept "self esteem" and the word "teens" within it. If one term is present but not the other, that item will not be retrieved.

OR

Use OR in a search to:

• Broaden your results
• Tell the database that you want EITHER search term in your results
• Connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)

EXAMPLE: Self esteem OR Self respect

Searches for self esteem OR self respect will retrieve all the articles that contain either term, or both terms. You can also add more search terms into the mix, with the understanding that this will further expand your search.

NOT

Use NOT in a search to:

• Narrow your search
• Exclude words from your search
• Tell the database to ignore certain things that may be related to your search terms

EXAMPLE: Self esteem NOT adults

Searches for self esteem NOT adults will retrieve all the articles that contain the concept "self esteem" but exclude from that list anything that uses the word "adults." You must be very careful when using this operator, as it will severely restrict your results and may cause you to overlook something important. An example of when to use NOT might be when you're looking for articles about dolphins (the animal) and you keep getting results about the Miami Dolphins football team. In this case, you could craft a search like dolphins NOT football.

If you want to use two or more words as one part of a search, use quotation marks to ensure that the entire phrase is included. For example, "self esteem" should be in quotation marks to avoid the terms being separately searched. 

Most databases give you the option of using filters, or limiters, to refine your search results. You can select as many filters as desired to best narrow down your results.

Some of the most commonly used filters include:

• Full Text
• Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals
• Publication Date 
• Source Types
• Subject
• Available in the Library (for ASU Library One Search)

After running a search with your keywords, quickly scan relevant articles and pay particular attention to the subject terms or, if offered, author-supplied keywords. These will provide you with new keywords to incorporate into other searches, leaving you with more accurate results.