Search for Information
Search Terms
What key terms will you use in searching to help answer this question? Use a Thesaurus or Wikipedia to help you with synonyms.
General, Related Words: Synonyms:
_____________________________ _______________________________
_____________________________ _______________________________
Example
Water purifiers, filtration stations, water filters, water filtration, filtration systems
Search relevant databases using the keywords you came up with, combining synonyms:
( _____________________ OR _____________________ OR ____________________ )
AND
( _____________________ OR _____________________ OR ____________________ )
Example:
("water purifier*" OR "filtration station*" OR "water filt*" OR "filtration system*")
AND
(university OR campus OR college)
Tip:
If you are searching for a phrase, put it in quotes. If you have a word that you want to search for the singular and plural form, truncate it with * (refugee* searches for refugee or refugees)
These are examples of Boolean Searching, which is described in depth on this guide, provided by CSUN.
Exact phrases
Sometimes, you can find relevant results using phrases in quotes that relate to your topic. The asterisk * can be used to search for multiple words with the same root. For example:
"local food" OR locavore
"waste reduction" AND recycl*
"university sustainability"
"food cart*" OR "food truck*"
"energy efficiency" AND (college* OR universit*)
"genetically modified foods" OR "GMO foods" OR (GMO AND food*)
"solar panel returns" AND "power grid"
vegan AND (diet* OR food*)
"water import*" AND ("Southern California" OR "Los Angeles" OR "San Diego")
"sea otter*" AND "marine reserve*"
Boolean Operators
