Preparing for Success

Use Boolean operators AND, OR

• Use AND to combine different concepts, e.g. Art AND community.
• Use OR with keyword synonyms and related terms, e.g. (mobile phones OR cell phones).

Use  truncation (the * symbol),  to search the different forms of a word simultaneously, e.g. sustain* will find results containing sustain, sustains, sustainable, sustainability, sustaining and sustained.

Use phrases search by placing double quotation marks " - " around two or more words, e.g. “climate change”. This technique will ensure your results only contain the exact phrase.

See the Boolean Machine for more information about how keywords are linked together.

This tool is designed to help you create a search string using Boolean search operators. Add your key concepts and synonyms then click the 'create a search string' button. The resulting search string can be copied and pasted into a database search box or the Library search box.

Copy and paste the above search string into a search box

The Search Strategy Builder was developed by the University of Arizona Libraries and is used under a Creative Commons License.

When you are searching, always remember to set Google Scholar preferences - this means that you will be able to directly access any articles/journals that the SCU Library has subscribed to.