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Boolean operators are named for George Boole (1815-1864), an English Mathematician and Philosopher. Boolean Algebra and Symbolic Logic both derive from his work. Boole is generally considered the father of modern computer science. Most electronic indexes (databases) require the use of Boolean operators in parsing search terms, although this is not always apparent. Boolean search statements are incredibly powerful in retrieving what you need provided 1) the statement is formatted correctly and 2) your choice of search terms is correct for the topic you are researching.
For this assignment, you need to use keywords to look for articles on specific topics. This is good practice--you can use your time most efficiently by creating good searches to enter into databases. Most databases work best ify ou enter keywords, rather than entire sentences or questions, into the database.
Try our new Search Strategy Builder for an even easier way to build keyword searches!
For example, if your research question was:
Is melatonin treatment effective for children with insomnia?
Then you might create a search that looks something like this:
"melatonin treatment" AND children AND insomnia
If you don't find anything with that search, then you may want to think of adding some synonyms to your search:
"melatonin treatment" AND (children OR youth OR baby) AND (insomnia OR sleep OR sleep disorders)
Read more about developing search strategies here: http://info-skills.lib.vt.edu/developing_search/index.html
One quick way to find more sources for your research is to utilize bibliographies. Once you find an article that fits your topic, search the article's bibliography for more sources relevant to your topic. Including articles in a bibliography not only credits the sources but also adds importance and credibility to these articles.
Let's say you were researching the glaciers in Nepal and one of your main sources was the journal article "Glacier variations and climate change in the central Himalaya over the past few decades." Searching the bibliography can add other titles to your research. But how do you find these articles? It's very easy!
