Introduction

Searching for information on one particular topic is relatively easy: just look up the term you are interested in. But if you want to find sources that discuss a particular set of different topics, it can be time consuming to look up and make lists of all the sources on each individual topic and then pick out those sources which are on all the lists. Also, not being familiar with the specific vocabulary or standard subject terms used for the topic can present difficulties when you do not know what terms to look up (e.g. does the index use "elderly," "senior citizens," or "aged"?). But there are a few tricks to get around these problems when searching for information on a computer database.

Here are some common searching techniques which offer powerful tools for quickly and accurately broadening, narrowing, or refining your search on a computer database. Most online indexes and databases have at least some of these search options, but there are often differences in how to use them, so read the help screens for the database you are using.