Use keywords that describe your topic or descriptive terms from your thesis statement. For primary source documents, such as a study or report, include those terms in the search. Examples:

• opens new windowcaffeine AND Parkinson's disease (MEDLINE results; keyword search)
• opens new windowcaffeine AND Parkinson's disease AND study (MEDLINE results; keyword search)
• opens new windowMH "Parkinson Disease" AND caffeine AND studyopens new window (MEDLINE results; MH=medical subject heading)
• opens new windowcaffeine AND Parkinson's disease AND study (ScienceDirect results; keyword search)

Combine previous searches with another search or new terms. In EBSCO databases use the Search History show/hide link to view a list of your previous searches.

When looking for an article listed in a bibliography or reference list, you can locate it by searching its title or  using key information such as the author's name, journal name, or publication date.

A Boolean Operator is a word that communicates search functions. AND, OR, and NOT are the Boolean operators used in searching databases to combine terms and search more efficiently.

AND = Results contain BOTH terms.
OR = Results contain EITHER term.
NOT = Results have the first term(s), but not the term following NOT.

Database Limiters:

• Use the database limiters listed on the Advanced Search page to refine your search.
• Eliminate issues with variant spelling using truncation (*).

What are your paper requirements? Set relevant limits, such as Date, Scholarly Peer-Reviewed articles, and other limiters to refine your search.

Remember to use subject headings or the thesaurus terms in your searching.

Use the Thesaurus or subject headings to refine and target results.

In EBSCO databases, click the link in the top menu bar. Key in your term in the Browsing text box, choose a display (Term Begins With,, Term contains, or Relevancy Ranked), and then click Browse.

Click a subject to view the scope and related terms. Mark the term and click Add to search it.