Specific Search Strategies
Keyword searching vs. Subject searching:
Both Keyword and Subject searches are useful, but they give different results.
- Keyword searches are useful when you're using a word that means something very specific. For example, "Choreography" refers specifically to the planning of the sequence of steps that form a dance, and "Choreography" is rarely used to describe something other than this definition. (From the library's homepage, type any search term and you have a keyword search.)
- Subject searches are useful when you're using a word that can be used in a variety of ways. For example, "Dance" means dance, but it also appears in expressions that have nothing to do with dance. Thus, some of the results for a Keyword search of "Dance" include the word "dance" but are actually about non-dance topics (for instance, the physics book Dance of the Photons). A subject search for "Dance" eliminates non-dance books from the search results.
There are various other types of searches for when you know some of the information you're looking for, such as the Author's name, or the title of a book. You can narrow your search by subject, author, or title by going to "Advanced Search" and using the drop down tabs next to the search boxes to select the type of search you would like to conduct.
The Meaning of * (Wildcard):
* picks up any character after the end of the typed-in term and is useful for words with many variants. For example, danc* brings up dance, dances, dancing, dancer, dancers, dancer's, dancers', and more variants that may be on a library items' descriptions.
Boolean Phrases:
Boolean phrases allow you to modify the relationship between the terms you use in a search. There are three common boolean phrases:
- AND -- combines two (or more) search terms so results contain all of the search terms.
- OR -- brings up items containing either of your search terms.
- NOT -- eliminates results containing one (or more) of your search terms.
To find fewer results: narrow the search with “and”
To find more: broaden the search with “or”
