In this section we will learn how to make an efficient search in a database. How can you make a database understand what you need?
Various databases interpret keywords differently. If you do a search without telling the database how to handle your search terms, the database may
- look for your keywords separately or next to each other as a phrase
- find materials containing all of your keywords or materials that contain only some of the keywords
- look for the keywords’ basic forms but not for the different word endings or spellings.
In order to get the database to execute your search in the way you intend, you need these tools for efficient searching:
- Truncation and wild cards: for example ?, #, $, !, *, %
- Phrase searching: for example European Union, social learning, public services
- Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT
Next you will learn these important search techniques. In addition, we will take a look how to filter your search, e.g. by language
Although databases may look different, these general principles apply to nearly any database. Once you have learned how to manage your keywords and filter your searches, you are able to make simple searches in almost any database.
