The first step to finding articles is to select a database. Each database covers a unique group of journals. 

Databases that are used for academic research require you to use terms and connectors. You need to join your search terms with AND and OR. If you don't, the database will simply look for all the terms you listed as if they were one big word or phrase. Normally that means poor results.

 Terms and connectors searching isn't hard if you take the time to think about them as instructions. In fact, using terms and connectors can get you the results you need much more quickly than doing, for example, a google search that brings back tons of stuff with only some of it relevant.

 Use AND if you want the terms joined by it all to be present in the articles you retrieve.

Use OR when you have more than one way to say the same thing.

 Remember to use the wild-cards to truncate (sometimes *, sometimes !) to get every form of a word.

If you need peer reviewed or scholarly articles check the box on the search screen or when reviewing results.

Date restrict to get the most recent stuff!!!

Sort results by RELEVANCY to review the best articles first.

When in doubt click HELP when in the database for explanations of connectors and wild-cards for that specific database.

Once you finish laughing you may find you actually understand boolean searching once and for all. This lady is bit odd but she's a great teacher!

Direct, straightforward video about using wild-cards in your search logic.

AND

for when you need all terms in a search string included in the articles you retrieve

OR

for when you have more than one way to say the same thing

if either of the terms shows up in articles retrieved it will be a useful article

* !

wild-cards for getting a root word and all of it's endings

for example: communicat* will search for communication, communicating, communicates, communicated, communicator, etc.