1.4 Connecting Keywords

Once you have your keywords, you will need to connect them so that the Library databases know how to search for them.

AND connects words. For example, if we search for history AND "rock music":

Using AND tells the database to only find books and articles that use all of your keywords. You can use AND to connect as many keywords as you like. But, as you add more words and narrow your focus, the database will find fewer and fewer articles or books.

Quotation marks are used to locate phrases. When a database sees quotation marks around two or more words, it will look for those words in that order only. For example, "social media” or "identity theft" or names like "John Lennon."

This is the end of Part One

Test your knowledge with the quiz before moving on to Part Two.