A normal keyword search might be ok for quick and general search but you may find too many results to scroll through. Many of the results will be irrelevant too.
When searching it helps to know what you're looking for, what you're not looking for and having the skills to find it. Using Boolean terms can help. Boolean Search uses a combination of keywords to organise and sift through your searches.
Using Boolean techniques when searching can:
Use any or a combination of the techniques below to make searching easier for you.
Using AND between keywords narrows your search results from just a keyword search
| design | basic keyword search |
| design AND sustainability | will combine terms together and reduce result numbers |
| design AND sustainability AND innovation | can be used more than once in same search |
Using OR extends your search out which retrieves more results. Works very well with very similar keywords and means you're not missing out on any relevant research.
| sustainability OR eco-friendly | will search for same term simultaneously, giving more results |
| sustainability OR eco-friendly OR environmental | can be used more than once in same search |
Use NOT to exclude results that you're interested in and reduce the number of records retrieved.
| design NOT architecture | will exclude ........records from search results |
Phrase searching works really well on all databases. Works well for a phrase that can also work as separate keywords.
| sustainable consumption | will search for sustainable and consumption as separate words extending your search out and showing many irrelevant records with records with sustainable and records with the word consumption. | |
| "sustainable consumption" |
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| design AND "sustainable consumption" | can be combined with other search terms |
Truncation can extend your search out to ensure you're not missing out on any relevant records. Works with words with different endings. Go to last letter of word before ending changes and add *. Here's some examples:
| sustain* will retrieve records with the keywords | sustainable, sustainability, sustain |
| innovat* will retrieve records with the keywords | innovate, innovation, innovations |
You can use parentheses/nesting to build a search with a combination of Boolean Operators by using (...). The search inside the (...) is always done first so this can affect your search results.
| (sustainability OR eco-friendly OR environmental) |
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| (sustainability OR eco-friendly OR environmental) AND (design OR layout OR arrangement OR structure) | can be added more than once to each search | |
| ((sustainability OR eco-friendly OR environmental) AND product) AND (design OR layout OR arrangement OR structure) | You can also use parentheses within parentheses. |
Some databases allow for searching for words within the same sentence or within a defined number of words within one another e.g.
| SAME | design SAME eco-friendly | using SAME will search for design and eco-friendly in same sentence |
| W- | design W3 eco-friendly | using W3 will search for eco-friendly within 3 words of design (change the number for limit of words between phrases/keywords e.g. W5, W7.) |
You can combine different Boolean techniques together. Here's a few examples:
| "sustainable consumption" AND textiles |
| (textiles OR fashion OR clothing) AND "sustainable consumption" NOT recycl* |
| (sustain* OR eco-friendly OR green OR environmental) AND design AND product (development OR innovat*) |