Library:Library Research Skills For Biologists/Module 3/3B Catalogue/Page 03

You can make your keyword searching even more POWERFUL using Boolean Logic. To start, there are two Boolean operators with which you should be familiar:

OR

AND

OR/or

This operator serves to broaden a search by capturing synonyms or variant spellings of a term. If you want to find any of the following words in the search, use the Boolean operator OR. Example: barnacles or thoracica or balanus or balanidae

In other words, use synonyms for your concept joined by the OR operator.

AND/and

This operator narrows a search by capturing two or more ideas or concepts. If you want to find both of the following words in the search, use the Boolean operator AND. Example: barnacles and ecology