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STS3790 - Issues of Science and Technology in Global Development: Search Strategy

Discover Library Resources

Image of Omni Search Bar

Omni is the York University Libraries (YUL)  search interface.  With a single search you can find books, articles, videos, maps, government documents, open access materials, and more. Check out the Omni Search guide for simple and advanced searching strategies on different types of sources.

Case Example

Describe Topic: Nuclear technology and the Japanese government

Identify Main Concepts:

1. nuclear technology
2. Japanese government
 
Find Synonyms:
(try a few searches and pay attention to the subject keywords used in the database)
 
1. nuclear technology
   OR nuclear power
   OR atomic energy
 
2. Japanese
   OR Japan*
 
3. government
   OR politics
 

Search Tips

When searching online, various words are used to help broaden or narrow your search.  Here are a few tips you should know before searching any academic database:

Boolean operators: Most internet and electronic databases follow the rules of boolean logic.  Boolean logic refers to the relationships (connections or differences) between different search terms.  The most common boolean operators are:

AND - used to narrow a search and establish more relevant results by linking keywords together (e.g. "behavioural" and "psychology").

OR - broadens a search and get more results. Typically used for synonyms and words with variant spellings (e.g. "self-actualization" or "self-identity").

NOT - use to narrow a search and get more relevant results (e.g. "behaviouralism" not "humanism").

Truncation: used to find similar words with different endings

e.g. human* searches "human and humans"

e.g. educat* searches "education", "educate", "educational" etc 

asterisk (*)  searches for various different endings of a word in most databases (including York University), however LexisNexis uses an exlamation mark (!).

Topic Search and Boolean Operators

Boolean AND

two circles - only results appearing in both circles

Boolean OR

two circles - any results appearing in one or both circles