When conducting higher-level research, such as for a thesis, dissertation, or systematic review, using an advanced search strategy is crucial.
With advanced search techniques, you combine keywords with tools like Boolean operators, truncation, wildcards, and nesting to widen or narrow your search.
Let’s explore these techniques using the topic: depictions of alien encounters in sci-fi films.
Most academic search tools use Boolean Operators to combine key terms.
There are three Boolean Operators that each have a different search function.
| AND (narrows results) | |
| AND: This operator narrows your search and finds results where all terms joined by AND must appear. You would use this operator to join your main topic keyword/s. | |
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A search with aliens AND films would find:
But not:
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| OR (broadens results) | |
| OR: This operator broadens your search and finds results with one or more of the terms. You would use this operator to join synonyms and related terms. | |
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A search for 'alien OR extraterrestrial' would return:
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| NOT (eliminates results) | |
| NOT: This operator is used to exclude specific terms from your search. Be careful when using this operator, as it may eliminate potentially useful results. | |
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A search for 'films NOT novels' would find:
But not:
|
Phrase searching helps you find results that include a specific group of words in the exact order you type them.
Use quotation marks (" ") around the phrase to make sure the search engine looks for the whole phrase.
| General search for alien invasion | Phrase search for "alien invasion" |
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Results using seperate keywords:
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Results using a 'phrase' keyword:
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| Exaplanation | |
Phrase searching is useful when you want to find specific terms or names, like titles or well-known phrases. But be careful, overusing this technique means you can omit useful results.
Proximity searching (sometimes called near searching) allows you to search for words that appear close to each other within a set number of words, helping you find relevant results even if the words aren't an exact phrase.
The language and symbols vary by database or search engine, but it’s often something like NEAR/x or N/, where x represents how close the words must be to each other.
Example: Searching for alien NEAR/5 encounter will return results where "alien" appears within five words of "encounter," giving you more flexible results than exact phrase searching.
Another Example: extraterrestrial NEAR/3 life will find sources where "extraterrestrial" is within three words of "life," capturing slight variations in wording while still focusing on closely related concepts.
Both wildcards and truncation help you expand your search by finding variations of words. They allow you to capture different endings, spellings, or forms of a word, making sure your search results are as complete as possible.
Truncation
Truncation helps you find different endings of a word by using a symbol (usually *). This way, you get results with all forms of the word.
This is great for finding both singular and plural forms of a word without having to type them separately. However, it might also bring up other word endings that aren’t related to your topic.
| communicat* = communicate, communicating, communication, and communications |
Wildcards
Wildcards help you find different spellings or forms of a word. The symbol for a wildcard is most often represented by a question mark (?) in the place of the letters you want to change.
| behavio?r = behaviour or behavior | civiliz?tion = civlisation or civilization |
Changing symbols
Keep in mind that different systems have different symbols. The type of symbol representing truncation, or a wildcard may change depending on the database you are searching with.
| Always check with each new database, what search techniques/symbols it uses. |
Nesting allows you to combine Boolean operators and group keywords to create more complex searches.
To 'nest' terms, you enclose similar terms in parentheses and combine using Boolean operators.
Nesting helps you refine searches by clearly defining how terms and operators interact, leading to more relevant results.
Group Terms: Use parentheses to combine terms with OR or AND.
("alien encounters" OR "alien abductions") AND sci-fi
Exclude Specific Terms: Combine nesting with NOT to filter out unwanted results.
("alien portrayals" AND films) NOT (books OR documentaries)
Combine Multiple Concepts: Nesting can handle multiple layers of search terms. By creating 'nests' with larger 'nests' you can be very specific about what to search.
((alien OR extraterrestrial) AND (encounters OR sightings OR abductions) AND (films OR sci-fi)) NOT (books OR documentaries)
08 8946 7016
+61 4 8885 0811 (text only)
Check out this guide which shows how different databases use symbols.
