COMM 102 Media Processes and Effects

SEARCH TIPS for Mirlyn, library databases, and the web (applicable to many search engines, including Google, but not all)

• PHRASE SEARCHING Put phrases in quotation marks:  "hurricane katrina"

• TRUNCATION Use an asterisk for truncation (any ending of a term):  communicat* will find communication, communicates, communicating, communicator, etc.

• MANY KEYWORDS may describe the same concept (movies, film, cinema, motion pictures)

• BOOLEAN OR To search for ANY  of a group of terms, use OR and parentheses:  (movies OR film OR cinema)

• BOOLEAN AND To search for ALL terms, use AND:  violence AND movies

• Combine the above strategies:  violence AND (movies OR film OR cinema OR "motion pictures")

• SEARCHING IS ITERATIVE (do it over and over):  to be effective and thorough, go back and try your search *multiple times* with many different keywords