Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > EN109 Writing for Technology & Business, Prof. Adams

Trouble? Call the Rockville Campus Library reference desk at 240-567-7130.

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, NOT
• Punctuation: quotation marks for phrases, parentheses with OR, truncation symbol to search for words with shared root (* 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)

(child* OR youth) AND obesity

"chesapeake bay" AND pollut?

(television OR tv) AND violence

iraq AND shiites AND sunnis

india AND "child labor"

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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:

workplace AND violence

workplace AND violence AND prevention

Set One Limit: Remember that one of your options is to limit your search to a particular campus, to the last five years, to e-books, to video (DVDs, VHS tapes), or to audio (CDs, cassette tapes).

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:

workplace AND violence

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.

Academic OneFile

A very large database covering all subjects. (Gale)

Academic Search Complete

A very large database covering all subjects. (EBSCO)

ProQuest 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.

PsycArticles

A collection of articles from APA scholarly journals.

Business Source Premier

A collection of journals that focus on business-related issues.

Military & Government Collection

Don't judge it by it's name! Not a collection of military and government publications, but rather a collection that addresses issues of interest to the military and the government.

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:gov workplace violence

site:edu workplace violence prevent

site:edu workplace violence policies and procedures

Websites:

United States Government

Simply enter the expression "workplace violence."

Occupational Safety & Health Administration

A division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

A division of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

MedLine Plus

Informational site of the NIH and the National Medical Library.

American Psychological Association

Search on "workplace violence."

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The library has six-page handouts on the MLA: Works Cited Page.

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