These tips also appear in Lesson 1 of the Library Research Tutorial, and pertain to the "Advanced Search" feature of Library Search, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts.
|
AND |
OR |
How it works: |
Search results contain both Term #1 and Term #2 |
Search results contain either Term #1 or Term #2 (or both) |
Effects on search results: |
Narrows /
Fewer results |
Broadens /
More results |
Examples with diagrams: |
Peas AND Carrots
Results = the middle area overlapped by both circles

|
Peas OR Carrots
Results = the entire area
of both circles

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Using an asterisk wildcard (*) at the end of a partial word will broaden search results by including multiple word endings.
When searching for a specific phrase (two or more words together), adding quotation marks around that phrase will typically narrow your search results.
For example:
- Using child* will search for all variations of the word child, including children, children's, or childhood.
- A search on "sexual strategies theory" -- with the quotation marks included -- will retrieve only those records containing these three words together in this exact order.