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

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:

homosexuality OR "gay marriage"

"campaign financing" OR (election AND reform)

"national emergency" OR "homeland security"

famine OR hunger OR starvation OR malnutrition

hybrid AND (cars OR automobiles)

"health care" AND reform

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 at the top of the page.
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

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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:

(homosexuality OR "gay marriage" OR "civil union") AND vermont

"campaign financing" OR (election AND reform) OR (mccain AND feingold)

("emergency preparedness" OR "homeland security") AND pandemic

hybrid AND (cars OR automobiles) AND prius

"health care" AND reform AND clinton

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, 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.

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.

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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 hispanic AND immigration

site:gov iraq AND veterans

site:edu "no child left behind"

site:org renewable energy

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

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