Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > EN102 Techniques of Reading & Writing II, Prof. Eckert

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, truncation symbols (asterisk * in databases, question mark ? in catalog)

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 pollut*

(television OR tv) AND violence

iraq AND shiites AND sunnis

india AND develop*

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Find Book In Catalog: Go to the library's homepage, find the link for MC Library Catalog, and set "Select Search Type" to Keyword Boolean. Enter a short search expression; remember, books tend to be about broader topics:

terrorism

preemptive

ethics AND peace

iraq AND war

Limits: Remember that your options include limiting your search to a particular campus, or to just a listing of e-books, or to items that were published in the last five years, and so on.

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).
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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Searching: Go to the library's homepage, find the link for the "Databases," and locate one of the databases on the list below. Enter a search expression; remember, you can narrow your topic quite a bit when looking for an article:

terror* AND (justice OR democracy OR "civil libert*")

war AND iraq AND terror*

war AND weapons AND biological

(homeland OR homefront) AND (terror* OR secur*)

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

Printing: For trouble-free printing, use the Print button in the database.

Help: Read the Help or Search Tips information for the database; 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

National Newspapers

Includes the last few decades of The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journals, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Baltimore Sun. For opinion pieces, try: More Search Options > Document Type > Editorial.

Academic Search Premier

The College's largest database.

Academic OneFile

To sort by relevance, user must select Relevance in blue menu bar before starting search.

CQ Researcher

Less is more; search on single word or short phrase for 30-page reports.

SIRS Knowledge Source

Remember to set the search mode to "Keyword/Natural Language" before entering search expression, or use the directory to drill down.

Opposing Viewpoints

Use blue Subject Headings on opening page to search by topic. Can also be searched using Boolean search expressions; select "Search By Keyword."

Military & Government Collection

The title of this database is a bit misleading; these are not necessarily articles from government or military publications, rather they are articles that are of interest to those who study or are in the military or the government.

Ethnic NewsWatch

Good for all topics. Remember that you can use drop-down menu to limit by a single ethnic group.

GenderWatch

Try this database for a different perspective.

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Keyword Order: From the good people at Google: "By default, Google only returns pages that include all of your search terms. There is no need to include AND between terms. Keep in mind that the order in which the terms are typed will affect the search results."

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:gov "homeland security" AND privacy

site:org speech AND (freedom OR free)

site:edu weapons AND biological

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The library has six-page handout on MLA citation style: MLA Citations: The Works Cited Page.

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