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DOH205/206 Research Skills Guide

Developing your Search Strategy: Introduction

Before you start searching online resources, it's good to have a grasp of some of the general techniques or "search operators" of online searching. Search operators tell Primo or the database you are using how to search with your keywords. To develop your search strategy you can then use these "search operators" to combine keywords from your assessment task.

For more information please see: Searching in a Database

Get better search results

Common Search Techniques

These search tips can help you to find more relevant results in Primo Search and many other library databases. If these tips don't work in the database you are using check their help section for their set of symbols.

Search Operator Example
Use AND to retrieve results that contain both of your search terms. "social determinant*" AND dental
Use OR to retrieve results that contain any or all of your search terms. "aged care" OR "nursing home"
Using NOT to exclude irrelevant results. canine NOT dog
Combine terms with parentheses to create complex searches. ("aged care" OR "nursing home") AND dental
Use quotation marks to search for a phrase "oral health"
Search for terms with different word endings using an asterisk. elder* = elders, elderly
A question mark can be used to replace a single letter within a word. analy?e = analyse, analyze

 

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