Search Basics

Knowing how best to utilize search tools can prove invaluable when researching material for an assignment.

What is a search tool? | Search statement | Boolean operators
Phrase searching | Truncation | Field searching | Parentheses

Search tools index millions of records and provides search features allowing you to find records matching the terms and criteria specified.

For each record in a search tool such as a library catalog or an article database, there are fields representing the author, title, subjects, publisher, publication date, and much more. Powerful search features enable you to retrieve relevant records.