How to Search in the Health Sciences: Phrases

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• Some databases assume that words typed next to each other should be searched as phrases.
• Others automatically put a Boolean AND between your search terms, requiring that all the words be present, but not necessarily adjacent to each other.
• These searches can retrieve very different results.

• Using parentheses or quotes around search words is a common way to do phrase searching, but not all databases or search engines use them.

Examples: 

"genetic engineering"

(genetic engineering)

Searching Basics

1. Create a Searchable Question
2. Boolean Operators
3. Search Strategy
4. Did you get what you need?

Specific Skills

Searching