Universal search tricks for identifying the most relevant sources and saving time.
Use AND to join different kinds of concept and narrow results
Example: antioxidants AND blueberries
Use OR to connect similar terms and broaden results
Example: carrots OR tomatoes OR beans
Use NOT to exclude terms and narrow results (use with caution)
Example: antioxidants NOT blueberries
Use to allow for variant endings on search terms
Example: child* (results will include child, children, childhood, etc.)
Use quotation marks for exact phrases or words in a particular order
Example: "weight loss "
Consider the concepts related to your topic and different search terms to capture the essence of the concepts. The easiest way to do this is to consider synonyms.
Example: If your search term is Benefits, synonyms might include Improved, Healthier, Pros, Outcomes, Positive.