Keywords (or search terms) are the words you use to search. They're what you enter into the search box of a search tool, such as Google or a library database like CINAHL.
Databases such as the ones you will be using for your classes provide better results if you use three strategies for entering your keywords.
Separate words and phrases with the word AND, like this:
nurses AND children AND immigrants
The AND is called a Boolean operator.
Another Boolean operator is OR, which you can use to link synonyms:
nurses AND (children OR adolescents OR kids) AND immigrants
Notice that when you use OR, you also use parenthesis around the words your connecting (that's important!)
Use quotation marks around common phrases. Quotation marks will keep your words "stuck" together.
"young adult"
"undocumented immigrants"
"patient mortality"
"preexisting conditions"
You can search the open web more efficiently using the following strategies.
Limit your search to a specific domain type or website using site:
site:.gov
site:.edu
site:usnews.com
Find websites that have your search terms in the title using intitle:
intitle:"racial bias"
Examples:
health "food desert" site:.gov
intitle:"opioid use" site:mayoclinic.org
Use the asterisk to truncate words. Truncating means that you put an * at the end of the root word.
immigrant -- looks only for the word immigrant
immigra* -- looks for immigrant, immigrants, immigration, immigrating, immigrated
More examples:
nurs* = nurse, nurses, nursing
adolescen* = adolescent, adolescence
trauma* = trauma, traumatic, traumatized, traumatizing
nurses AND children AND immigrants
nurs* AND (children OR adolescents OR kids) AND "undocumented immigrants"
nurs* AND (child* OR adolescen* OR kid*) AND "undocumented immigra*"
nurs* AND (child* OR adolescen* OR kid*) AND ("undocumented immigra*" OR "political refugee*")