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BUILD IT Express

A short version of the Bellevue University Information Literacy Development Interactive Tutorial aka BUILD IT

SETTING UP YOUR SEARCH

The boxes below will tell you the basics of identifying keywords, as well as techniques for combining them efficiently and effectively  More information on all of these is found in Module Two of the full BUILD IT Tutorial.

WHAT IS A KEYWORD?

A keyword is any significant word or phrase that describes your topic.

To identify keywords, write a topic statement that sums up the subject and focus of your paper in a sentence or two. It may be a statement or question.. For each keyword, list synonyms and related words. See box to right for an example.

IDENTIFYING KEYWORDS

The words in red are keywords. Related words are listed for each.. Combine these in various ways to set up your search.

WHAT IS A BOOLEAN SEARCH?

Identifying keywords is only the first step to effective searching. The secret to finding information efficiently is in the way you combine keywords when searching. Most databases allow you to search using Boolean Logic. see box to right for more details.

BOOLEAN CONNECTORS

Boolean Logic refers to the logical relationship between search terms, and uses these three operators, or connectors: 

These connectors link together two or more terms to either narrow or broaden your search.
The following Venn diagrams demonstrate how these connectors work to control your search.
Only the resuts represented by the darker purple will be retrieved.

Any number of terms can be connected using Boolean operators.  
Most database advanced search screen are already set up to connect search terms in this way.

NOW LET'S FIND SOME INFORMAITON

Now you are ready to get started finding your sources. Go on to MODULE THREE: LOCATING INFORMATION