Are you getting too many search results? Too few?
Here are a few basic tips to help you get the right number of relevant search results.
Too many?
- Use AND between your search terms, so that all results have all of your search terms
- Use Quotation Marks around phrases or groups of words you want to search as an exact phrase, eg., "food security", "racial profiling". Do not put an entire question or title in quotation marks however; this will result in very few, if any relevant results.
- Use database Filters and Limits to narrow your results by content type, date, and subject area. Library databases and Summon have these features
- Use NOT between search terms to exclude results you don't want
Too few?
- Use OR between similar search terms so that all results have either or all terms
- Use a different database to find additional sources
