Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > EN109 Writing for Technology & Business, Prof. Holleran Topic: New Energy Sources

Trouble? Send an e-mail to pat.semple@montgomerycollege.edu or 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, 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

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:

"alternative energy" OR "renewable energy"    good

energy AND (alternative OR renewable)    better

energy AND (solar OR wind)

hydroelectric AND (energy OR power)

hybrid AND (cars OR automobiles)

energy AND (nuclear OR atomic)

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:

fuel AND alternative

energy AND (alternative OR renewable) AND "government program"

energy AND (solar OR wind) AND development

hydroelectric AND (energy OR power) AND future

hybrid AND (cars OR automobiles) AND production

energy AND (nuclear OR atomic) AND (career OR vocation)

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.

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.

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

Go to drop-down menu and change to "Search By Keyword" before entering Boolean Search Expression.

AccessScience

An online encyclopedia.

Military & Government Collection

Includes Congressional testimony, commentary, and articles on anything related to government legislation or action.

ScienceDirect

Articles are culled from a collection of very scientific publications.

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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 hybrid AND (car OR automobile)

site:gov "government program" AND wind

site:edu "renewable energy"

site:org oil AND canada

Energy Information Administration

Official energy statistics from the U.S. Government. (U.S. Department of Energy)

Renewable Resource Data Center

Information on these resources: biomass, geothermal, solar, wind. Includes dynamic maps and GIS data. (U.S. Department of Energy)

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The library has six-page handout on APA citation style: APA: The Reference List.

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