Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > BA101 Introduction To Business, Prof. Kalantari

A search expression that uses Boolean operators is one of the best ways to pinpoint information in a library catalog, database, or search engine. There are three components to Boolean search expressions:

• Keywords: tend to be the nouns that best describe a topic
• Boolean Operators: AND, OR, and NOT
• Punctuation: quotation marks for phrases, parentheses with OR

Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:

("avian flu" OR "bird flu" OR "avian influenza")

"global warming" AND (oceans OR "marine life" OR coast)

(children OR youth) AND obesity

"chesapeake bay" AND pollution

(television OR tv) AND violence

iraq AND shiites AND sunnis

"third world" AND debt

("european union" OR eu) AND turkey

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MC Library Catalog: Open MC Library Catalog and change the search engine setting to "Keyword Boolean" and create a Boolean Search Expression. There are three components to Boolean search expressions:

• Keywords: tend to be the nouns that best describe a topic
• Boolean Operators: AND, OR
• Punctuation: quotation marks for phrases, parentheses with OR

Books By Topic: Start by combining only two or three keywords, as "less is more" when searching for books:

"katharine graham"

"lee iacocca"

"howard hughes"

"steve jobs"

Books By Subject: Copy and paste one of these phrases into MC Library Catalog; set the search type to "Subject Contains":

businessmen united states biography

businesswomen united states biography

Request Book From Another Campus: Go into MC Library Catalog and use the REQUEST ITEM button (pictured at right).
Renew Books Online: Go into MC Library Catalog and use the MY ACCOUNT button (pictured at right).
Montgomery County Public Libraries: The College Libraries don't have a book on your chosen CEO? Try searching in the catalog for the Montgomery County Public Libraries using the same technique.

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ReferenceUniverse

This is an online tool that enables you to search all of the library's encyclopedias, print and electronic, simultaneously. NOTE: Remember put a checkmark in the box labeled "Restrict Search to Titles in your Library."

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Searching: Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:

starbucks AND ceo

amazon AND ceo

"carly fiorina"

"katharine graham"

Sorting: Results can be sorted by date (most recent first) or relevance (highest occurrence of keywords).

Printing: For best results, use the Print button provided by the database publisher before submitting via the browser's print menu.

Business Source Premier

The best place to start researching this kind of topic. Over 2,300 business publications represented.

Regional Business News

A collection of "75 business journals, newspapers and newswires covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States."

Hoover's Online

A compendium of company information published by Dun & Bradstreet.

ProQuest Newspapers

Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and Christian Science Monitor.

Academic OneFile

A very large collection of many different types of publications.

Academic Search Premier

Another very large collection of a range of publications.

Specialty Databases: For the complete listing of subject-specific databases, which include ones especially for topics related to business, mass media, health, ethnic issues, gender issues, criminal justice, education, science, and psychology, go to the source:

Databases by Subject

   * * * ALL DATABASES * * *

A complete listing of the College's databases organized by topic.

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The library has six-page handouts for the APA Reference List.

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Help: Speak to the reference librarian on duty or call the reference desk: Germantown: 240-567-7853 Rockville: 240-567-7130 Takoma Park Silver Spring: 240-567-1536
AskUsNow!: For 24/7 help, IM an academic librarian at a college or university library by using Maryland's AskUsNow! service.

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