Doing Research in the Andersen Library, UW-Whitewater

1. Doing Research in the Andersen Library, UW-Whitewater Martha Stephenson Reference & Instruction Librarian

2. Tips to Save You Time: Find Info Fast

3. Statement, Issue, Question • What are the health benefits of dark chocolate?

4. B R A I N S T O R M

5. Keyword Tip #1: Phrases • Quotation Marks “ ” • Use when words often or always occur in a specific order • Words will be in that exact order in the results • Narrows search (finds fewer, more useful results) • heart disease Finds=5,977 • “heart disease”Finds=2,723

6. Keyword Tip #2: Use AND • AND • Use to connect different concepts • Both concepts will be in the results • Narrows search (finds fewer, more useful results) • “heart disease” Finds=2,723 • “heart disease” AND diet Finds=271

7. Keyword Tip #3: Use NOT • NOT • Use to remove a term • Order matters, use it before the last term • The term after NOT will be omitted from the results • Narrows search (finds fewer, more useful results) • “heart disease” Finds=2,723 • “heart disease” NOT exercise Finds=2,465

8. Keyword Tip #4: Use OR • OR • Use to connect similar concepts • At least one term will be in the results • Broadens search (finds more results, is more thorough) • Saves time by doing several searches in one • chocolate Finds=1,726 • chocolate OR cacao OR cocoa Finds=2,497

9. Keyword Tip #5: Use Truncation • Truncation • Use to find various endings of a word • Place symbol at the end of the rootword • Broadens search (finds more results) • Be careful of placement! • diet* = dietORdietsORdietary… • Caution! cat*=catORcatsORcatatonicORcatastrophic, plus 250 words unrelated to cat (better search = cat OR cats)

10. Keyword Tip #5: Combinations • Nesting in Databases • Use to assure search runs correctly when using ORs and ANDs or NOTs • Like in algebraic equations • Place ORpart in parentheses • (chocolate*OR cocoa) ANDdiet*