Phrase Searching
Put quotation marks " " around phrases to search the term as a phrase. Otherwise, the database or Google may separate the words.
"social media" "minimum wage" "Port Huron"
Boolean Operators
Refine your search results using Boolean operators. The three most common Boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT, but there are others available. The operators AND and NOT will narrow your search and OR will usually increase your search results.
AND - Use AND to find resources with all your search terms.
“climate change” AND "national security"
“business plans” AND restaurants
"college students" AND "study habits"
OR - Use OR to find articles with either search term in them.
"Blue Water Area" OR "Thumb Coast"
colleges OR universities
restaurants OR “food industry”
ecommerce OR "online shopping"
NOT - Use NOT to eliminate terms you do not want in your search results. (Use - in Google)
graffiti NOT "American Graffiti"
Combining Terms - Put parentheses () around the ORs if other Boolean operators are used.
“college students” AND sleep AND ("cell phone" OR texting)
marketing AND (restaurants OR "food industry")
