OneSearch: About OneSearch

Search words:

Instead of typing a sentence or question into the search box, type your keywords. Think about your keywords before beginning your search and keep in mind that OneSearch is not Google. Library search tools are much more literal. All they do is match words. You may have to try several different searches to see which words work best.

For example:

• do not use: speeches given by Martin Luther King, Jr.
• use: speeches Martin Luther King, Jr.

• do not use: What are the health benefits of eating mushrooms
• use: mushrooms health benefits

EXACT Phrase:

To search for an exact phrase put quotation marks around the first and last words of the phrase. For example: "animal experimentaiton." This will give you results that only include items with that exact phrase.

AND, OR, NOT:

You can use these words to narrow or broaden your search: AND, OR, NOT (Be sure to use ALL CAPS).

AND returns results that have all the specific terms. So a search for anima experimentation AND cosmetics will only retrieve results that have animal experimentation and cosmetics in the results. It is a useful way to narrow your search.

OR retrieves results with at least one of the search terms. So a search for "animal experimentation" OR "animal testing" will retrieve results that include either the phrase "animal experimentation" or "animal testing" or both. It is a useful way to broaden your search or to search or search for synonyms (for example, oil OR petroleum). 

NOT excludes any search that includes the specified term, It is most useful to use NOT when trying to eliminate irrelevant results. So a search for "animal experimentation" NOT medical will give you results related to animal experimentation, but will not include results about medical testing. It is best to use NOT after you have conducted a search and notice a number of results that are irrelevant to your needs.