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Animal Science

Recommended resources for AVS courses and researching Animal Science topics.

Tips for Creating Advanced Keyword Searches

These tips can be used, in general, with the Library's OneSearch, databases, and on the open Web.

Try Boolean operators or connectors

  • AND = Fewer results. All of your search terms must be found in the results. EXAMPLE: heat stress AND chickens. You could also just type: heat stress chickens.

  • OR = More results. Any one or more of your search terms must be found in a result. EXAMPLE: Rambouillet OR Suffolk.

  • NOT = Fewer results. Word(s) must be excluded from the results. EXAMPLE: NOT review. The word "review" would be excluded.

Try a phrase search

  • Find words that appear in a particular order. Type the words in order between quotation marks. EXAMPLE 1: "nutritional requirement"  EXAMPLE 2: "video image analysis"

Try a truncation search

  • Finds words that start with certain letters. Type a word stem, then add an asterisk symbol. EXAMPLE: Foal* will find foal, foals, foaled, foaling.

Try a nested search

  • Use parentheses to separate search statements so they can be combined and performed in order. Statements inside parentheses are searched first, and the order of operations is left to right. EXAMPLE: reproductive (problems OR complications OR issues OR concerns).

Try an index or field search

  • Find words in a particular index or field. EXAMPLE: You can search for words within the Title, Abstract, or Subject field.

Modifying Your Search

Search Order

Databases follow commands you type in and return results based on those commands. Be aware of the logical order in which words are connected when using Boolean operators: 

  • Databases usually recognize AND as the primary operator, and will connect concepts with AND together first.
  • If you use a combination of AND and OR operators in a search, enclose the words to be connected with OR in parentheses.

Examples:

  • ethics AND (cloning OR reproductive techniques)
  • (ethic* OR moral*) AND (bioengineering OR cloning)

Too Many Results

Your topic or research question could potentially be too broad, returning a large number of irrelevant results. Since most topics involve multiple aspects and different contexts, you may need to narrow your topic to find acceptable resources. When narrowing a topic, make sure your new search still reflects the main idea.

Here are some techniques to help narrow your topic.

Technique Description Search Example Less Results
Quotations Add quotations around two or more keywords to create a specific search phrase  social justice "social justice"
Add a Focus Too broad of a topic will retrieve too many results. Add a focus to reduce the number. “oil wells” AND construction “oil wells” AND construction AND Texas
Use Boolean Term NOT  Excluding a keyword or phrase from searching will remove any articles referring to that topic.  ethics AND “alternative medicine”  ethics AND “alternative medicine” NOT acupuncture 
Add Keywords The more keywords you add, the fewer results you will get. “rap music” “rap music” AND gender

 

Too Few Results

If you returned too few results, your topic or research question could be too narrow or specific to find enough information. You may need to broaden your topic to find acceptable resources.

Here are some techniques to help broaden your topic.

Technique Description Search Example More Results
Check Spelling Unlike many search engines, databases will not correct a misspelled word. “intrest rates” AND inflation “interest rates” AND inflation
Reduce Keywords The more keywords you have, the lower number of results you will retrieve. bees AND honey AND pollination AND food AND Florida  bees AND pollination AND food
Try Synonyms Replace keywords with different words that have the same or similar meaning.  females AND “relationship abuse” women AND “relationship abuse”
Try Related Terms Use keywords that are related to your topic, but not exactly the same. universities AND “academic achievement” “higher education” AND “academic achievement” 
Add Boolean Term OR  Add OR between synonyms or related terms to expand results. advertising AND children advertising AND (children OR teenagers)
Change the Focus Too narrow of a focus will produce fewer results. “Seminole County” AND habitat AND “black bears” Florida AND habitat AND “black bears"
Truncation Add an asterisk(*) to the end of a root word to expand search education educat* (education, educated, educator, etc.)

Find Information on the Open Web

Google logo by Ruth Kedar
Logo by R. Kedar (1999)

Search the open Web more effectively with the links and tips below. Keep in mind that many online sources are plagiarized or of questionable quality.  When using online sources, ask yourself the following questions:

Who is the author? -- What are her/his credentials? -- What possible biases exist? -- When was this source published?

More on connecting Google Scholar with Library databases

 

Here's how you change your settings in Google to connect the library resources.

Visit scholar.google.com

1. Click on the drop down button located on the left hand side. 

2. Select "Settings"

arrow pointing to settings in google scholar's side bar

In Settings:

1. Click on "Library Links"

2. In the search box, enter "Cal Poly Pomona" and select the search button.

3. Select "Cal Poly Pomona - Find It Cal Poly Pomona"

4. Save your settings by clicking "Save"

library links circled, cal poly pomona written in the search bar and find it "cal poly pomona" box checked off

Doing a search, you will notice on the right-hand side, "Find It Cal Poly Pomona" appears.  This is to let you know that Cal Poly Pomona University Library might have access to the article/book.

 

Find It Cal Poly Pomona in Google Scholar