Instead of simply typing in masses of keywords into a database search screen, take a moment to examine the following search operators that are common to many business databases. Remember, you will need to formulate a search statement rather than simply typing a question or extensive phrase.
AND
Mandates the inclusion of the word or phrases somewhere in the record.
Example: bullying and trauma
OR
Used to account for variety in expressing an idea, and may be used for allowing provision for multiple acceptable terms. Records retrieved will contain any one of the words or phrases in the set, not necessarily all.
Example: (bully or bullies) and (siblings or sisters or brothers)
Excludes records containing a specified word or phrase. When using “not,” one must put “not” at the end of one’s search statement.
Example: Bullying not violence
Truncation
Utilized to account for varieties of a desired word. The database will find records containing words beginning with the word chunk you provide.
For example, a search for emotio* would retrieve records containing any of the following:
Emotion, emotional, emotionally emotions, etc.
Keep in mind that the truncation symbol changes from database to database. For example, while EBSCO databases use the asterisk (*), LexisNexis uses the exclamation point (!). Consult the respective databases' HELP screens to learn the truncation symbol for the given database.