Module 2: Boolean Searching

Recommended Instructions for Module 2:

1. Read and/or listen to Module 2 Summary and Objectives

2. Watch embedded YouTube tutorial below or go to Module 2's subpage: Module 2 Screenshot walkthrough.

3. Complete the practice activity.

Module 2 Summary

A mathematician named George Boole studied the logical relationships of the words AND, OR, and NOT, and most databases use this logic as the basis of their searching (thus the name "Boolean" for this system). Boolean searching uses AND, OR, and NOT to combine two or more terms--databases are more precise than Google, which allows you to type in a string of words. Connecting the key words with the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT get you much better results by expanding or limiting your options.

It works like this: AND is used when you want information about two or more topics, and you want all the terms to be covered in the same article. You're narrowing your results to articles where your terms overlap. NOT also narrows results, but it's used to exclude a term from your results, not include it. OR expands results by providing all of the articles on all the terms you link with OR. The tutorial gives you a visual diagram example, and shows you each of the searches in action.

Module 2 Objectives:

1. Know the difference between AND, OR, and NOT.

a. Know which one expands searches and which ones narrow them.

b. Know when to use which term.

2. Be able to conduct a Boolean search combining two terms.

3. Be able to conduct a Boolean search combining three terms.

Further Practice

Want some practice? Try this case scenario:

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: to do a search for articles on drug use in horse racing or dog racing. This is your chance to practice doing a real search using what you’ve learned. Don’t worry about your database choice—use Academic Search Premier. Focus instead on what your search terms are and how to combine them properly.

To ponder: What did you come up with? Were your results relevant and on-target, or did you combine the terms the wrong way? Boolean searching can take some practice, so don’t be afraid to experiment and come up with lots of combinations to test.