Chemistry & Biochemistry

When you start a search, the words you type in the search bar are called keywords. When choosing what keywords to type, you should select keywords that are specific to your research topic or question.

Avoid Full Sentences

Every word you type into a search bar the search thinks needs to be in the search results. So, it is important that you avoid typing in full sentences like, "How does climate change impact sea turtles?".

In this example I'd want to remove how and does and instead use the the keywords climate change and sea turtles. By focusing on the main ideas of your research topic you are making your search more specific and should be able to find more relevant search results

When searching in most places (i.e., Library OneSearch, Google Scholar), you can use AND, OR, and NOT to connect your keywords and build a search phrase that helps narrow or broaden your search results.

• AND narrows your search. Your search will only show items that include all the words connected by AND. 
  • I.e., birds AND "wind farms"
• OR broadens your search. Your search will show items that include either or both of the terms.
  • I.e., birds OR raptors
• NOT narrows your search. When you include not, it will exclude any search results that include the word after NOT. 
  • I.e., birds NOT raptors

You can also use " " quotation marks and ( ) parentheses to build your search.

• " " Quotation marks will tell wherever you're searching (e.g., Scopus) that you are looking for a phrase and to search for the two or more terms next to each other.
  • I.e., By putting " " quotation marks around the phrase "wind farms," where you are searching will know to only look for the two terms together.
• ( ) Parentheses can help you visualize your search and limit what AND, OR, or NOT apply to.
  • I.e., (Birds OR raptors) and "wind farms"