Whether you are searching for books in the Five College Library Catalog, or searching for scholarly articles in a library database, 
it pays to be organized as you start your search. Break down searching into a three step process.

STEP 1
Write down as much information about your topic as possible. Answer the following questions:

• What is your topic?
• What questions do you have?
• What do you know? What don't you know?

Then, try to summarize what you are looking for in one or two sentences.

EXAMPLE: I would like to find scholarly or peer reviewed articles and other kinds of information on the effectiveness of the "live high train low"  training method.

STEP 2
Using the information in Step 1, list the main concepts of your topic.

EXAMPLE: "live high train low," effectiveness

STEP 3
Now create a list of synonyms of your key concepts. Think broadly, think narrowly! This step is helping you expand your search
by expressing your query in a variety of ways. If you get too many results, then you can work on focusing your search.

You will use the word lists you developed in Step 3 to create search strategies. Use "OR" between synonyms and "AND"
between concepts. For instance:

"live high train high" AND (effective* OR improvement OR performance) AND  runners

Watch Video (3 minutes):  Crafting a Savvy Search Strategy (UCLA Library)

2 short videos introduce Boolean search techniques:

• Boolean Operators  (AND. OR. NOT)
• Boolean Modifiers. ( “ ,  * ,  “ )

[How Library Stuff Works, McMaster Libraries]

Use the worksheet to keep track of the "words that work"

~ includes search tips for truncation, AND, OR, NOT and "using quotes for phrases" ~