Skip to Main Content

Animal Health Science

Recommended resources for AHS courses and researching Animal Health 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: animals AND separation anxiety. You could also just type: animals separation anxiety.

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

  • 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: "Registered Veterinary Technicians"  EXAMPLE 2: "nutritional requirements"

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: Onychectomy (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.