Skip to Main Content
The University of Manitoba campuses are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Ojibwe-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. More

Sciences and Technology Database Help

Introduction

This guide includes links and help navigating the science and technology databases available through the University of Manitoba Libraries. Explore this guide by clicking on the links in the list of databases on the left side of this page. 

Searching Tips

Search Tip

How to Use

Find More Information
Combining search words with AND, OR, & NOT (Boolean operators)

Combine words with

  • AND to get results that have both words. 
  • OR to get results that have either or both words.
  • NOT to get results that have one word but not the other. 
 How to Search guide on Boolean Operators
Add "quotation marks"  to search phrases

Put words in quotation marks (sometimes brackets or curly brackets) to get results that have the exact phrase. For example:

  • "genetic engineering"
  • (genetic engineering)
  • {genetic engineering}

 

 How to Search guide on phrase searching
Use truncation (*) for multiple word endings

Add an asterisk to the end of a word to get results that include the root word as well as any possible endings. For example if you search with Child* results will include the words: 

  • Child
  • Children
  • Childhood
 How to Search guide on truncation
Use proximity searching to search for nearby words

Many databases allow you to specify that the words you are searching are within a certain proximity of each other. Proximity operators vary by database, but some common ones include W# (with, within) and N# (near).

W# specifies that words appear in the order you type them. Substitute the # with a number of words that may appear in between. If no number if given, then it specifies an exact phrase.

  • Example: cold W2 therapy retrieves: cold therapy, cold water therapy, etc.

N# can specify that the words may appear in any order. Substitute the # with a number of words that may appear in between.

  • Example: cloning N3 human retrieves: cloning of humans, human cloning, etc.
 How to Search guide on proximity searching
Search subject headings for controlled vocabulary

Subject headings are controlled vocabulary and terminology to identify resources on that topic.

To find subject headings:

  • Look at subject heading thesauri used by the database you're searching:
  • Check the Help pages for how to use subject headings in your database.
 How to Search guide on subject headings
Use brackets to nest your search concepts

If you need to mix your boolean operators in one search string you need to use brackets to tell the database how to group your terms together. Just like in math the operations inside the brackets are conducted as a step in the over all search.

Group synonymous terms using parentheses with OR in between those terms.

  • e.g. (teen OR teens OR teenagers OR youth OR adolescent OR adolescents)

The database will search this as a group first before combining it with the next term or group of terms

Combine the groups of synonymous terms using AND.

  • e.g. (teen OR teens OR teenagers OR youth OR adolescent OR adolescents) AND (driver OR drivers OR driving)
 How to Search guide on brackets or nested searching
Search fields for searching different parts of resources

Records in databases are comprised of fields containing specific pieces of bibliographic information. Limiting your search to specific fields in a database can yield more precise results. Look for the Advanced Search page to search specific fields.

Common fields include: title, authors, source, publication type, language, subject headings, abstract, publication date, and DOI.

 How to Search guide on field searching
Use search filters to include or exclude search concepts

Search filters (a.k.a. hedges) can be used to search for specific aspects of your topic (e.g. geographic region, population).

 How to Search guide on search filters and hedges.

Truncation

Truncation is a searching technique used in databases in which a word ending is replaced by a symbol.

Frequently used truncation symbols include the asterisk (*), a question mark (?) or a dollar sign ($).

Different databases use different truncation symbols so it is important to check the database 'Help' information or 'Search Tips' for details about which symbol to use.

Truncation enables different forms of a word to searched for simultaneously, and will increase the number of search results found.

For example:  If the truncation symbol is *, then the truncated word,  laugh*, will search for results containing laugh, laughter, laughing etc.

Note: Placing the truncation symbol too soon in a word should be avoided. 

For example: hum* will search for results containing humour, but it will also retrieve unrelated terms like human, humbug, humerus, hummus etc.

Boolean Operators

Boolean operators allow the user to do a type of search allowing users to combine keywords with operators such as AND, NOT and OR to further produce more relevant results.

Source: http://automation-drive.com/boolean-operators

Research Basics

Basic Search tips:

  1. Identify what you would like to search for.
  2. Brainstorm and identify keywords for your search.
  3. Put your kewords together with boolean operators and add truncation for a better search.
  4. Examine your results and revise your search terms if necessary.