You can use a research log to track your progress while conducting research. View some templates below and use what works for you.
Keywords are terms we use when searching for information. Searching in a library database is a little different from how you might be used to searching in a search engine like Google. In a search engine, you can type in entire phrases or questions and the algorithm will be able to parse through that to return the results you want. In a database or library search, you need to be more precise. By choosing your keywords strategically, you can maximize your search to make sure you're getting the information you want.
You can use the words AND, OR, and NOT to combine your search terms for precise searching. These are called Boolean operators and each one has a different purpose. Using these can help narrow or broaden your search, and can help you combine topics to find more specific results. These strategies can be used in any library catalog or database.
Use AND to combine your search terms. Each search result with include all of the terms. This can help narrow your results.
Use OR to find results that contain at least one of your search terms. This can help you broaden your results, and can be good to use if the subject you're searching for is referred to in different ways.
Use NOT to exclude terms from your results. This can help you narrow your topic by removing a related term that you are not interested in finding sources about.
The Venn diagrams below show how Boolean operators work. The purple highlighted areas represent what the search results will include.