Lesson 7 Flashcards
Boolean Search
A search strategy that uses one or more additional keywords separated with the words AND, OR, or NOT to produce better results.
Boolean “AND”
The Boolean AND operator can be used to narrow or limit your search. For example, the search “second-hand smoke” AND cancer will only retrieve documents that contain BOTH of these keywords.
Boolean “OR”
The Boolean OR operator can broaden or expand your search. For example, a search on the yellow-eyed leaf frog may be limited, but a search for “yellow-eyed leaf frog” OR “agalychnas annae” will return documents that contain one, or the other, or all of the keywords.
Boolean “NOT”
Boolean “NOT”: The Boolean NOT operator can exclude a topic when you find you are getting a lot of results that have nothing to do with your topic. For example, a “mullet” is both a fish and a hairstyle. Mullet -hair is the same as mullet NOT hair.
Wildcard search
Place an asterisk () on the root of a word to bring back results that include all forms of that word. For example behav will find behave, behavior, behaviour, behavioural, behaviourism.
Domain search
To limit by a particular domain or site (e.g., .edu, .gov, .org), type in the domain you want at the end of your search string. “gaming in education” site:.edu will retrieve information about gaming in education only from sites with the .edu domain.
Control-F
A way to quickly find information on websites by holding down the Ctrl button (Command on a Mac) and hitting the F key at the same time. This opens a search where you can skim a website or other document.
Search Engine
A way to search the internet. Common search engines include Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Database
An extensive collection of information that is available on the Internet. Library databases have authoritative information that is difficult to find elsewhere.
Annotated Bibliography
An MLA formatted citation followed by a descriptive paragraph that notes key elements of the source.
Authoritative
A term that describes a source that has been edited and often peer reviewed before being accepted for publication.
Proprietary idea
Information that most people do not know and thus requires a citation.
