Phone: 210-486-4513
Email: nvc-library@alamo.edu
Text: 210-390-1112
FAQ search box
Book-a-Librarian (30 min. w/ librarian)
When searching in One Search or any of the library databases use Boolean Operators.
Boolean Operators are three words (AND, OR, NOT) that you can use to combine keywords.
Examples:
Chicano AND activism
Chicano OR Chicana
"Chicano civil rights movement" NOT "African American"
When developing a search strategy avoid using whole sentences. Instead break down your topic into keywords and use Boolean Operators.
Correct: Chicano AND activism
Incorrect: "I need to find resources about the Chicano civil rights era."
Incorrect: "articles about civil rights" AND Chicano
Quotation marks can be used to search for exact phrases or a phrase that you would like to keep together.
Correct:
"La Raza Unida Party"
"League of Mexican American Women"
Incorrect:
"Chicano" - Not necessary to put quotation marks around just one word.
"Chicano AND activism" - avoid putting quotation marks around a search string.
Truncation can save you time. Use an asterisk * to take the place of letters in a word so that other forms of the word can be searched at the same time.
Example: Chican* will search for