The best place to start your search of the library resources is by using Page 1+’s basic search box on the library homepage. It is easy to use and gives you an idea of the vast scope of items within our collection. The following search tips will help to get you started:
Search (or Boolean) operators are helpful tools used to focus search results. You can narrow your search results to relevant sources by using a combination of related search terms (keywords), phrases, and symbols. These operators allow you to use Page 1+ and our databases more effectively. Below are examples of common operators you can use when searching in Page 1+:
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Common Boolean Operators |
Small connector words such as AND, OR, and NOT are used to link keywords and phrases. If you are adding them into a general search box, they need to be written in UPPER CASE, so they are separated from the keywords. Symbols such as asterisks (*) and question mark (?) are used within the words to pick up all variations or the word(s). |
| AND |
Used to connect search terms, keywords, concepts and phrases together to help narrow results. Think of AND as a plus sign, where you add words to your search string equation.
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| OR |
Helps to broaden search. OR can be used to combine keywords with similar meanings. Think of OR as an equal sign in your search string equation. cannabis OR marijuana |
| NOT |
Used to exclude irrelevant words from your results. Think of NOT as the minus sign in you research string equation.
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| Quotation marks |
Use quotation marks to enclose multiple words in a specific order, to find an exact phrase, or a specific spelling.
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| Parentheses |
Enclosing multiple search terms and other operators with parentheses (brackets) controls the order in which the keywords, terms, or phrases are read in search queries.
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| Truncation * |
Use an asterisk* in place of words that have multiple endings to broaden your search.
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| Wildcard ? |
The question mark symbol can be used to substitute letters in words that allows you to increase the number of records you retrieve.
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| Synonyms |
Words that have similar meanings. Try expanding your search by including synonyms if you aren’t getting quality results.
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Your instructor may have requested or recommended readings that you need to access through the library’s resources. This could be a book, book chapter, journal article, or video. To search a required or recommended reading or video for your course in Page 1+, you can do a search for the title and/or author using the basic search box on our library homepage or Page 1+ homepage.
You can also find a specific item by using the Browse by Author or Title function in Browse Search, which you will find in the top menu of the Page 1+ webpage. For Browse by Author, it is best to search by last name.
Sometimes you may be looking for an article in a specific journal. Rather than searching through the one-stop search feature, you can look for the specific journal using the Journal Search found in the top menu bar on the Page 1+ homepage. You can search for a journal by Title or ISSN.
You can also search through lists of journals by looking through under Journals by Categories in the left-side column. The journals are grouped together.
