From OsloMet, not edited by NIH as of the current date.

How to Search Effectively

There are some tricks to use your search terms more effectively, thereby narrowing down or expanding your search.

You can often limit the number of results by using the filtering options in the databases after you have conducted a search. For example, filter by journal articles, year, or other criteria (such as subject, author, or language), and experiment with what works.

General search techniques can be used in most places where you search for information, whether it's in Oria (nih.no) or in a subject database.

Common Search Techniques

What is it called?	What does it involve?
Field search	A technique for refining the search by defining which fields you are searching in (e.g., title, author, or subject).
Truncation	A technique for expanding the search by replacing one or more letters with a truncation symbol (e.g., asterisks *).
Phrase search	A technique for narrowing the search by defining exact phrases in quotation marks (e.g.: "heart attack" or "public sector").
Boolean search	A technique for searching with multiple keywords simultaneously using "Boolean operators" AND and OR. This can both expand and narrow the search.

 Note! Be careful with the truncation asterisk!

Strateg* will yield good results for strategy, strategies, strategic, strategic work, etc. (variations and forms of the same root word).

Child* will yield results ranging from kindergarten, children, and childhood diseases to childish, baby food, children's books, etc. (completely different words!).

Note! In some databases, such as PubMed, the use of truncation can actually limit the search. This means that the database does not automatically help you find articles that use other words or synonyms for your topic.

Useful links

Search techniques (sokogskriv.no)