To understand how effective the research techniques being taught are, it's helpful to perform searches without using any special operators, filters, etc.
When searching Academic Search Complete for "AI," for example, almost 200,000 results are generated.
Furthermore, the subjects of each article vary wildly. We quickly encounter research that focuses on healthcare, education, business, and more.
Without tools and techniques, one is truly looking for a needle in a haystack of information.
One of the first methods to employ when conducting research is pairing keywords with Boolean operators to obtain unique and relevant search results.
Boolean operators, or Boolean logic comes to us from mathematician George Boole.
Boolean operators used by keyword databases for research are:
When used in a single search bar, these operators are to be placed between keywords to generate unique results.
The operators must be in ALL CAPS so the database recognizes them as operators, and not as part of your general search phrase.
How do these operators work together with Keywords? Let me explain using this colorful example...
AND
When you combine the keywords Peanut Butter with Jelly using AND - Peanut Butter AND Jelly, you get search results that contain both terms.
Think of the middle portion of the Venn Diagram.
Do keep in mind that using AND, especially using it multiple times, can narrow your search results, so be careful to not be too limiting.
OR
When you combine the keywords Peanut Butter with Jelly using OR - Peanut Butter OR Jelly, you get search results that contain Peanut Butter, then some other results that contain Jelly.
What you should not get are results that combine these terms.
Looking at the Venn Diagram, your search results will be the left and right portions, without the middle.
This will help expand your results. If you struggled with your previous searches not turning up enough material, this should help. It works exceptionally well when you use OR to plug in terms synonymous with your keyword: ex. Ethics OR Morality.
NOT
When you combine the keywords Peanut Butter with Jelly using NOT - Peanut Butter NOT Jelly, you get search results that only mention Peanut Butter. Theoretically, you should not get results for Jelly or Peanut Butter Jelly sandwiches.
This is another limiting strategy. It is best applied in situations where the search results keep lumping in material tangentially associated with your keywords and muddying up the results.
For example: You're researching Football. However, you keep getting a lot of hits for Soccer. Try searching Football NOT Soccer and notice how your results transform!
