Getting Ready to Search Databases: Boolean Operators & Venn diagrams (or,There's More to Searching than Google)

Serious research often requires you to search professional databases. While they allow simple keyword searches such as the kind you use with search engines like Google, they also offer much richer resources for finding information, including field searches and Boolean operators.

A. BOOLEAN OPERATORS

The first thing to learn about is the Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT (and sometimes NEAR).

We will introduce Boolean operators briefly in class. Then you should learn more by visiting a number of websites.

1. Begin at the following site and work through the 3-5 minute tutorial on Boolean operators:
   http://lib.colostate.edu/tutorials/boolean_info.html
   
   
2. Continue the same tutorial to the section entitled Advanced Boolean Tutorial (3-5 minutes) at
   http://lib.colostate.edu/tutorials/booleanadv_info.html
   
   
3. Carefully read the summary page at
   http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/others/boolean.html
   
   
4. Work through the four interactive demonstration searches at
   http://writing.colostate.edu/demos/boolean/index.cfm
   
   
5. Learn about parentheses, truncation and wild cards at
   http://www.gv.psu.edu/foweb/lib/boolean_search/parenth.html
   or truncation at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/library/libtp/instructions/Nursing/truncation.htm and wild cards at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/library/libtp/instructions/Nursing/wildcard.htm
   
   
6. Learn how to combine Boolean operators, parentheses and truncation to solve difficult search problems at
   http://www.askscott.com/examples.html
   

You may want to watch this video on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGVbHp0jufE. Notice the other YouTube videos listed under "Related Videos."

B. VENN DIAGRAMS

Venn diagrams go hand-in-hand with Boolean operators. In fact, they are just a visual representation of AND, OR & NOT.

1. See the connection between Boolean operators and Venn diagrams by going through the tutorial at
   http://www.lib.lsu.edu/instruction/searching/searching09.html
   A similar presentation is given at
   http://www.gv.psu.edu/foweb/lib/boolean_search/and.html
   
   
2. View the very helpful videos and images for Venn diagrams at
   http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/Search07.htm#1
   Similar illustrations are make Venn diagrams clear at
   
   
3. Learn how to use more complex Venn diagrams at
   http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/others/venn.html
   
   
4. Check how well you're doing with this review, which includes test questions at
   http://newterra.chemeketa.edu/library/instruction/tutorials/boolean/boolean.htm
   
   
5. Test your knowledge of Venn diagrams at
   http://www.engr.iupui.edu/%7Eorr/webpages/cpt120/venn/venn/toc.htm
   NOTE: This site uses operators from mathematical set theory, but we can interpret them as follows: the symbol ∩ means AND, the symbol ∪ means OR, the symbol – means NOT.
   Ignore Question #5 with the symbol Δ (if you're curious, it means the symmetric difference of two sets, that is, the set of elements which are in one of either set, but not in both).
   

Some sample test questions are online at
http://tinyurl.com/2gkjxm

WHEN YOU HAVE WRITTEN DOWN YOUR ANSWERS, check them with the correct answers at
http://tinyurl.com/36bscj

Finished your work early? Get broad overview of effective searching at
http://www.askscott.com/tindex.html .