Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > MC Scholars

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 symbol (asterisk in databases, question mark in catalog) for word roots

Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:

("avian flu" OR "bird flu" OR "avian influenza")

"global warming" AND (ocean OR "marine life" OR coast)

(child* OR youth) AND (obesity OR obese)

"chesapeake bay" AND pollut?

(television OR tv) AND violen*

"third world" AND debt

("european union" OR eu) AND turkey

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MC Library Catalog: Open MC Library Catalog and change the search engine setting to "Keyword Boolean" and create a Boolean Search Expression. 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, question mark (?) as truncation symbol for word roots

Books By Topic: Start by combining only two or three keywords, as "less is more" when searching for books:

globalization AND music

global? AND (disease OR virus)

global? AND terror?

morocco AND (women OR culture OR society)

disabl? AND "international law"

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).

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ReferenceUniverse

This is an online tool that enables you to search all of the library's encyclopedias, print and electronic, simultaneously. NOTE: Remember put a checkmark in the box labeled "Restrict Search to Titles in your Library."

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Enter one or two keywords, or explore your topic using "Research Tools" menu on the left.

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Enter one or two keywords, or drill down using the categories.

Credo Reference

Use the topic categories to drill down or put a short search expression in the Search box.

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Searching: Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:

"child soldier"

globalization AND (music OR arts) AND (native OR indigenous OR folk)

"sex trafficking" AND child*

globalization AND ("east asia" OR africa)

global* AND (crime OR criminal OR mob OR violen*)

global* AND (garbage OR "waste management")

global* AND business AND green

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

Printing: For best results, use the Print button provided by the database publisher before submitting via the browser's print menu.

Start With These Databases:

Academic OneFile

A very large collection; use Boolean search expression and NOTE that opening tab is *just* academic journals.

Academic Search Premier

Another very large collection. Use Boolean search expression and note that you will need to *select* academic journals. Note that you have the option of generating a partially formatted MLA citation after clicking on Print button.

Project MUSE

A collection of scholarly journal articles.

Sage Premier

A collection of scholarly journal articles. Note that the interface is somewhat different from all of our other databases; Boolean search is partially set up for you.

National Newspapers

If you want opinion pieces, click on the tab near the bottom entitled "More Search Options" and change "Document Type" to "Editorial."

Specialty Databases: For the complete listing of subject-specific databases, go to the source:

Databases by Subject

   * * * ALL DATABASES * * *

A complete listing of the College's databases organized by topic.

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The library has six-page handouts for both the MLA Works Cited Page and the APA Reference List.

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