Checkout these suggestions on selecting a topic and writing a research question:
How Boolean Operators Work
Placing the words “AND” and “OR” (also called Boolean operators) between your search concepts and synonyms can help you create a search statement that retrieves the most relevant sources.
As the diagrams illustrate, using the word “AND” reduces the number of results you get, by requiring that both terms appear in each result. Placing “OR” between search terms expands the number of results because it retrieves sources that use any of the words. Generally speaking, you should use “AND” between each of your concept terms, since you want to find books and articles that address all the aspects of your topic. You should use “OR” between synonyms, to make sure that you find closely related sources.
Searching Techniques
Truncation | Phrase Searching | Wildcards | Nesting |
---|---|---|---|
Broaden your search to include variant word endings and spellings. Enter the root of the word then the truncation symbol, usually the asterisk *. | Use quotation marks " " around search words to search for a phrase - only use this around two or more words. Using the phrase search will help you narrow your results. | Substitute a symbol for just one character. The most commonly used wildcard symbol is a question mark ? | Use parentheses () to put search words into sets. Terms in the parentheses are processed first. Use nesting with AND, OR, & NOT. |
Examples: nurs* = nurse, nurses, nursing religio* = religion, religions, religious, religiosity |
Examples: "end of life" "spiritual care" |
Examples: wom?n = women, woman m?n = men, man |
Examples: (screening or detect*) and lupus (cancer* or neoplasm*) and "spiritual* care" |
More information on Effective Search Techniques can be found on this tutorial:
What is plagiarism and how can you avoid doing it? Sometimes it is deliberate, but most of the time it is simply because you don't know when and how to cite a source. This short tutorial video defines plagiarism, in my own words and based on my own experience in information science, and outlines 5 easy steps for how to avoid it.