Skip to Main Content
NWACC Library
Library Hours

AAA PLEASE DO NOT ERASE--Essential stuff and mapped boxes for other guides - Unpublished

info for faculty mapped to all other guides

3

How will you look for information? What techniques or hacks will you use in the tools you choose? Some helpful strategies include:

Keywords down arrow

The words you choose matter; select search terms with care. Avoid putting your search in the form of a question.

Exact phrase down arrow

Put 2 or more words inside quotation marks to turn them into a single word; so "black cat" looks for results with these 2 words as a phrase. Without the quotation marks, the tool will look for the words black and cat anywhere in the results.

Suggestions down arrow

Search tools usually make suggestions for keywords and search terms as you type in the search box - Use them!

3 "Magic" Words down arrow

  • AND - combine keywords or search terms (eagles AND bears); results must have both words
  • OR - include alternatives for keywords or search terms (eagles OR bears); results will have one word or the other, maybe both
  • NOT - eliminates keywords or search terms (eagles NOT bears); results will exclude results that contain the keyword after NOT

Filters or Limiters down arrow

Overwhelmed by search results? Limit by picking filters such as date or source type (academic journal, ebook, etc.).

4