Need help identifying key words to use for your search? Check out the video below
Use the following search strategies when searching for resources through the University Libraries' website: library.tulane.edu.
Boolean operators are used to expand or limit search results.
Boolean AND
Use AND between related terms to only retrieve resources about both terms, not resources about either term by itself. This will limit your search results.
Boolean OR
Use OR between synonyms and other related terms to retrieve resources that are about either term or both terms. This will expand your search results.
Boolean NOT
Use NOT between related words when you want to disregard one of those terms. This will limit your search results.
When using multiple Boolean Operators, group related terms using parentheses as shown in the screenshot below. This structure helps the system understand the relationship between each term.
When searching using multi-part terms like "new color", use quotation marks as shown to ensure that the system searches for resources described by the words in they order they appear. For example, if you were to search New York without quotation marks, you will receive resources described using the terms "new", "color", "color new", and "new color." Using quotations to phrase your multi-part terms helps limit your search.
When using quotation marks, you receive less results.
When searching for related words based on their root word, use an asterisk (*) to let the system know that the letters near the asterisk may vary. For example, the search below will return resources described with the terms "class", "classification", "classifier", etc. Using the truncation asterisk expands your search.
The asterisk (*) can also be used to identify words with varying spellings. For example, when searching for both the American English spelling of "color" and the British English spelling of "colour," use an asterisk as shown to search for both variations.
The following list of search terms may be useful when searching for Sociology related resources.
| Sociology | Social Sciences |
| Social Theory | Social Behavior |
| Social Institutions | Inequality |
| Social Stratification | Socialization |
| Social Norms | Deviance and Social Control |
| Family and Relationships | Gender and Sexuality |
| Race and Ethnicity | Ability/Disability |
| Advocacy | Urbanization |
| Urban Studies | Rural Sociology |
| Media and Society | Politics |
| Human Welfare | Critical Theory |
| Economic Sociology | Public Ethics |
