Module 1F Boolean Operators and Search Examples

Google Scholar

Broadest research database.
Captures academic and non-academic sources.
Scrapes websites, including university repositories (where researchers' articles are uploaded) and private platforms like ResearchGate.
Strategy:
- Enter search terms (e.g., "lower body strength and its impact on sprint performance").
- Review articles and abstracts to determine relevance.
- Access articles: On campus, access is generally automatic; off-campus, access via the ECU library using your username and password.
Example:
- Article: "Comparisons and methods used to enhance sprint speed" - a review article.
- While not primary research, review articles can be useful for unstructured literature searches.

Effective for science-based research.
Uses Boolean operators.
Example:
- Search: "lower body strength OR sprint speed".
- Pulls up articles including either term in the title or abstract.
- Review abstracts to determine topic fit.

Extensive database with an advanced search system.
Features:
- Search for keywords, subject phrases, journal titles.
- Includes Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT.
- Example search: "lower body strength AND sprint performance NOT plyometrics".
- Option to restrict search to peer-reviewed articles (important for finding original research).
- Option to exclude duplicate articles.
- Ability to constrain the search to a specific time period (e.g., 1995-2010).
Process:
- Set search parameters, including Boolean operators and filters.
- Execute the search.
- Evaluate the results and adjust search strategy as needed.
Example:
- Constraining a search resulted in finding only one accessible article, indicating the need to adjust the search strategy.