This document provides guidance on strategies for effective searching using a thesaurus and database. It outlines steps to formulate a search including choosing a topic and keywords, using boolean operators to combine terms, and searching specific fields. The summary also notes features for refining searches, including limiting by date, source type, and full text availability. Overall, the document offers tips for constructing targeted searches to efficiently locate relevant information.

1. Using the Thesaurus Results Page
Too many results? Results don’t quite Library, Information
1. Use the search box to type the term for which match your topic?
you are looking Narrow your results: Science & Technology
2. Select how you'd like your term to be • by source type Abstracts (LISTA) with Full
• by subjects within results
searched:
"Term Begins With" (results will return in Limit your results: Text
alphabetical order) • Full text
"Term Contains" searching library returns • Peer review All About LISTA
AGING of materials (Library science) first • References available
• Publication date • Published by EBSCOhost and
"Relevancy Ranked" will return the exact
match for the term first followed by a list of Looking at the icons in your search results provided freely at
terms displayed in order of relevance www.libraryresearch.com
3. Click on selection to see scope note, broader,
narrower, and related terms
• Covers more than 600 publications
4. Select Explode to include all narrower terms,
or choose additional terms individually
• Includes topics such as
• Use the magnifying glass to view a short
record including the abstract
librarianship, classification,
• Get the full text pdf. If full text is not cataloging, bibliometrics, online
available you will see an option to look for information retrieval, and
full text in other databases, and a citation list information management
will be presented.
• Add to a folder for later use • Great for professionals who want to
• Click on the title to see the full record
keep up to date on current trends in
Record Page
View the full record for your article
the field
• Hyperlinks to Author, Source, and Subject
Terms records • Essential for students pursuing a
• Provides permanent link to record which you Master’s degree in Library and
can Information Science
5. Once terms are selcted, add to search
using a boolean operator. The icons below allow you to print the record, email,
6. Use thesaurus terms with natural save as a file, export, or move it to a folder for later.
language to expand your search options

2. Strategies for Smart Searching
Beginning your research
• Choose a topic
o Virtual Reference Service
• Turn your topic into a research question
o How are libraries using virtual
reference services?
• Choose key words in your question which
will identify the key concepts you'll use
for your search
o How are libraries using virtual
reference services?
• Use your key words and any synonyms to
create searches with boolean operators
Adding in Boolean Operators
OR will expand your search
• online OR virtual OR email OR "instant
message"
• retrieves any result with any of these
terms
AND will narrow your search
• virtual AND reference
• only retrieves articles that include both of
the terms
NOT will further narrow your search by
excluding items
• reference NOT "academic libraries"
• will retrieve articles that include
reference but none that refer to academic Search Options
libraries
• Use Thesaurus at the top of the screen to find subject headings along with narrower and
Putting it all together: related terms (further explanation on reverse side)
• Search all text or a particular field in the index
• Use Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT within or between search boxes
• Other search options can be set to search ALL terms, ANY terms or to include phrases of
text (see Smart Text Searching explanation in Help)
• Set limits to full text, peer reviewed, publication date or type, document type, plus image
viewing limits