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

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, asterisk for truncation

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*

  return to top

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:

africa AND aids

"intellectual property"

music AND copyright

Setting Limits: Remember that you can use the "Set One Limit" option to restrict your search to a single campus, to just videos (VHS & DVD), to items published within the last five years.

Renew Books Online: Go into MC Library Catalog and use the My Account button at the top of the page.

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

  return to top

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:

iraq AND (withdraw OR withdrawal OR "get out")

immigrant AND "smart profiling"

immigrant AND (policy OR amnesty OR "worker program")

(cigarette OR smoking) AND ("public place" OR restaurant)

"marine corps" AND training

creationism AND (taught OR teaching OR school)

china AND ("one child" OR baby OR "family planning")

(nurse OR nursing) AND shortage

women AND (combat OR military)

africa AND develop*

euthanasia AND "animal shelter"

congress AND represent* AND ("d.c." OR dc OR "district of columbia")

children AND advertising

"internet neutrality"

restaurant AND "trans fat"

"electronic chip technology"

addiction AND (internet OR online)

"patriot act" AND libert* AND (civil OR individual)

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

"Mainstream"

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, include the word "editorial" in your search expressions.

Academic Search Premier

The College's largest database.

Expanded Academic ASAP

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.

CQ Weekly

Search on single word or short phrase.

SIRS Knowledge Source

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

"Outside the Mainstream"

Opposing Viewpoints    LIMIT: 1 article from this source

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

For students researching Iraq, undocumented immigrants, Marine Corps training, women in combat, etc.

Ethnic NewsWatch

For students researching undocumented immigrants, China's one child policy, illegal immigrants and drivers' licenses, developing African nations, etc.

GenderWatch

For students researching China's one child policy, or women in combat.

  return to top

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 "intellectual property"

site:org women AND combat

site:edu "multiculturalism OR pluralism) AND education

Helpful Starting Points:

Think Tanks, Foundations, and Research Organizations

Check out each site's "About Us" link to identify bias or focus or special interest. (Semple)

International Organizations & Foreign Policy Institutes

Again, check out each site's "About Us" link to identify bias or focus or special interest. (Semple)

Global Issues: Health, Education, Welfare

Not at all a complete list, just some helpful starting points. (Semple)

Country Information

Start here if researching a foreign country. (Semple)

Miscellaneous:

United Nations

(Official Site)

MedLinePlus

For any topic even remotely related to a medical or health issue. (U.S. National Medical Library; National Institutes of Health)

FirstGov.gov

The official site for all government information. (U.S. Government)

  return to top

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

  return to top