The real art of searching is in finding just the right search keywords and phrases (like in the story of Goldilocks, not to narrow and not too broad but just right). Computers can be frustratingly literal. For example, searching for the word "schools" will bring back articles about colleges - but also all other grade levels, too. (And maybe other kinds of education, like traffic school, or even schools of fish!)
We recommend starting with specific terms, and only going more broad if you can't find what you need.
While there has been a lot of work done recently in computer science on natural language queries and artificial intelligence, the technology isn't quite there yet when it comes to searching for information. Use keywords or phrases, not sentences or questions. For example,
Search: education
not
How can we change education?
Word placement matters when it comes to searching. That is, if your search word or phrase is in the article title, abstract, keyword or subject, chances are better that article is really about that topic, and your word or phrase isn't just a note at the bottom of the last page.
If you are getting too many results from a search, try specifying that your word or phrase has to appear as a keyword, or even precise, as subject or in the abstract.
Often, though, there are more than one word or phrase to describe what you need. In those situations, use the Boolean logical operator OR to connect them. In searching, "or" is not part of everyday language; instead it tells the computer that you want either or any of those terms.
Examples:
online learning OR online teaching
creativity OR innovation
Combining search terms with AND & OR can really focus down your search. (See the video in the box on the right for how to use AND & OR correctly in searches.)
When searching in Cañada Library's databases, though, use Advanced Search Mode. This gives you multiple search boxes. Be careful to put only similar terms (linked with OR) in the same box. Use the pre-set AND to link with your additional concepts, putting those term(s) in another search box. Here's an example:
gets the following results:
This three-minute video describes more advanced search techniques that can focus your results even more, and save you time. The quotation marks technique works for multi-word phrases in Google, and you can use Boolean logic terms in Google Scholar, too!