EBSCOHost research databases

The default search mode for EBSCOHost research databases also supports boolean searching.

Boolean searching is based on defined relationships between multiple terms in a search query. 

These relationships are defined through three operators: AND, OR, and NOT. 

Note: In EBSCOHost research databases the AND is always implied, meaning if you search child welfare, the databases will default to looking for child AND welfare. To avoid AND searches and instead search for an exact phrase, put double quotation marks around your query.

Use AND in your searches to retrieve results that contain all of your search terms. Using AND therefore narrows your search.

You may want to enclose phrases in quotation marks in order to search them as a unit (rather than one word) as per below:

In the above case, the middle of the Venn diagram represents your results for this search. Only results mentioning both intimate partner violence and child abuse will be returned.

Using the OR operator can broaden or expand your search as it will retrieve results with either one of your search terms. This operator is especially useful when wanting to capture all information on a topic because you can use the OR operator to account for synonyms, regional linguistic differences, and even outdated terminology.

In the above case, the whole of the Venn diagram represents your results for this search. Results mentioning either intimate partner violence or domestic violence will be returned.

As with AND, the NOT operator also limits your search results. This operator is especially useful for filtering out concepts that are not relevant to your search but may be associated or conflated with the topic you are researching. 

In this case, only the shaded side of the Venn diagram represents your results. Any results mentioning elder abuse will not be retrieved.

Multiple boolean operators can be combined to create very precise search statements.

To make even better use of boolean operators, you can use parentheses to nest search terms and operators within other terms. For example, we could create the following query:

("intimate partner violence" OR "domestic violence") AND ("child abuse" OR "child maltreatment")