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CHHS 342: The Health Education/Promotion Specialist

Search Predictability

The most basic function you will find in a database is Boolean Searching.  Boolean Searching uses AND, OR, & NOT to tell the machine how your keywords should function.

Imagine searching for a pet in a database of an animal shelter.  You might do something like this:

dog AND cat = for kids who want a miracle         

dog OR cat  = for those who aren't sure which pet or have no preference        

dog NOT cat = for those allergic to cats

It's a System.

  • Almost all databases use the same functions
  • Once you know what to look for and how it works you can take that skill set anywhere.
  • "Keyword" can include different pieces of information, including
    • title
    • author's name
    • publishing dates
    • reference lists and notes

Search Fields


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