7 Online Search Techniques

Learning Objectives

• Locate resources that describe advanced search techniques
• Apply advanced search techniques for information retrieval

How Database Searches Work

Patrons looking for specific research must navigate various search engines and databases to find appropriate material. Proper use of these search tools requires understanding of how databases and search engines work, what metadata is, and how to use advanced search tools.

Basic Search Functions

Basic searches require the search of keywords that narrow down relevant resources. Many engines and databases use what is called a “discovery layer” which consolidates resources into an all-in-one search box (Evans, 2021). Discovery layers were adopted by many libraries after the rise of search engines like Google. Unlike databases, Google is not curated by librarians. Google’s search functions are more limited, particularly when using metadata, which will be discussed in the next section. The PDF linked below provides some tips for searching more efficiently within Google.

Google Search Tips

Advanced Searching

Databases are organized using metadata that breaks sources into various fields. Librarians assign fields to materials to organize their data and allow users to find the most relevant and timely information (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, n.d.).
Common fields:

• Title
• Author
• Subject
• Date
• Publication
• File type
• User rights

Searching for a database using keywords can yield many irrelevant sources. Boolean searching helps users find specific information and eliminates superfluous results.

Operators

Operators are additional words that assist in expanding or narrowing key words within searches. There are three primary operators:

• AND = in addition to
• OR = this or that
• NOT = exclude from search

Many advanced searches allow additional search boxes with these operators (see Figure 1). Operating words can also be typed within the search box, but they must be capitalized to avoid being filtered out as “stop words” or words that databases ignore in order to generate narrower searches.

These operators can be used together to comb databases for the most relevant sources. For example, a patron may be looking for information regarding contemporary literature. If they wanted to widen their search, they could use OR:

• Contemporary literature OR 21st century literature

AND can further narrow their search:

• Contemporary literature OR 21st century literature AND novels

These operators can be compounded into hyper-specific searches that selectively include and/or exclude terms. A more specific search may be:

• Contemporary literature OR 21st century literature AND novels NOT poetry

Quotations

Quotations are another tool that require a search to include each keyword with the same sequence. Searching “contemporary American novels” will only display sources that feature that sequence of words.

Truncation and Wild Cards

Symbols can be used to truncate words and enable the search to include alternate conjugations. The symbol varies by database, but the most common symbols are *, !, ?, or #.

• Example: Typing Limit* allows the results to include limit, limits, limited, limitless, etc.

Wild cards also account for alternate forms or spelling within sources.

• Example: Wom?n now enables the database to search for “women” or “woman”

The PDF linked below provides a simple breakdown of Boolean search techniques patrons may employ to aid their research.

Boolean Searching Basics

Key Takeaway

Understanding how search engines and databases organize information enables librarians to guide users toward more relevant results. By applying and explaining advanced search techniques, librarians support more efficient and informed research practices.