Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > EN102, Prof. Abdullah

Prof. Abdullah: Historical review of the legislation pertaining to opium,
cocaine, marijuana, LSD, amphetamines, ecstasy.

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
• Punctuation: quotation marks for phrases, parentheses with OR, truncation symbol (? in catalog, * in databases) for word roots

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)

(child? OR youth) AND obesity

"chesapeake bay" AND pollut*

(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, and NOT
• Punctuation: quotation marks for phrases, parentheses with OR, question mark (?) for truncation to word root

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

marijuana AND medic?

history AND (drugs OR opium)

drug AND trafficking

hemp OR marijuana OR hashish

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).

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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: To see the ebooks, remember to put a checkmark in the box labeled "Display All Reference Universe Works."

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Enter one or two keywords, or explore your topic using "Research Tools" menu on the left.

HINT: For an excellent overview, read History of Drug Control in the United States.

Oxford Reference Premium

Enter one or two keywords.

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Enter one or two keywords, or drill down using the categories.

Credo Reference

Use the topic categories to drill down or put a short search expression in the Search box.

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Searching: Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators. Remember that in the databases, the truncation symbol is an asterisk (*):

history AND "war on drugs"

history AND opium

legislation AND (marijuana OR hemp OR hashish)

"pure food and drugs act"

cocaine AND coca-cola

"women's christian temperance union"

"harrison act"

"single convention treaty" AND hague

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.

Search By Boolean Expression: Refer to the examples above or click on the Help or Search Tips buttons within the database:

History Resource Center: U.S.

--Enter one or two keywords or short Boolean search expression; use menu at left to broaden or narrow the search.

--Citation help: Unfortunately, none to speak of.

Academic OneFile

--A very large collection of many different types of publications covering all topics.

--Citation help: To the right of article title, look in red Tools box for Citation Tools; in pop-up, select style and click on Save button.

Academic Search Premier

--A very large collection of many different types of publications covering all topics.

--Citation help: Above article title, use Print or Save or Email to generate citation in style of your choice; in the Manager pop-up, look in grey box for radio buttons and Citation Format.

National Newspapers (several publications, 1990-present)

--If your want opinion pieces, click on the tab near the bottom entitled "More Search Options" and change "Document Type" to "Editorial."

--Citation help: Above article title, in yellow bar, click on Cite This; in pop-up, use drop-down menu to select citation style.

Historical Washington Post (1877-1990)

--Recommendation: In "More Search Options" tab, change Document Type to "Article."

--Citation help: Above article title, in yellow bar, click on Cite This; in pop-up, use drop-down menu to select citation style.

Historical New York Times (1851-2004)

--Recommendation: In "More Search Options" tab, change Document Type to "Article."

--Citation help: Above article title, in yellow bar, click on Cite This; in pop-up, use drop-down menu to select citation style.

SIRS

--Recommendation: Use the radio buttons to change the search type to Keyword/Natural Language and enter Boolean search expression.

--Citation help: Not much here; click on the link for Descriptors for the components.

--HINT: Do a Keyword/Natural Language search on this phrase: "centennial of an unnatural disaster"

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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Limit Domains in Google: To limit your Google search to reputable Web sites, enter the domain you are interested in searching in front of your search terms:

site:edu     or     site:gov

    or     site:org

site:edu (marijuana OR hemp OR hashish) and history

site:org opium

site:gov "drug trafficking"

site:gov "war on drugs"

Recommended Sites:

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Museum & Visitors Center

See especially the section on "Illegal Drugs In America: A Modern History." (Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Justice)

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

Enter a substance name into the search box. (U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Department of Health & Human Services)

DEA: Legislative Resources

(Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Justice)

DEA: Law Enforcement Resources

Enter search term, such as "legislation," into search box on homepage. (Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Justice)

Drug Use: A U.S. Concern for Over a Century

(Congressional Research Service)

Time Line: Chronology of Drug Regulation in the United States

(Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food & Drug Administration)

30th Anniversary History Book

In the first chapter, 1970-1975, there is a description of the history of drug enforcement efforts in the United States. (Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Justice)

openCRS: Congressional Research Reports for the People

Enter the name of the drug you are researching. Note that you will be taken to an abstract of the report; to access the report, click on a link in the section titled "Download Locations."

6. MLA & APA WORKS CITED

The library has six-page handouts for both the MLA Works Cited Page and the APA Reference List.

7. HELP

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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Send your feedback and suggestions to pat.semple@montgomerycollege.edu.

©2008 Montgomery College Libraries Last revised 2008 April 14, pps