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Communication

Journals

3 Rules of Searching

1. Use KEYWORDS not whole sentences

Example:

Sentence: Why are there a lot of at-risk students not reading at grade level?

Keywords/concepts: “at-risk”; “students”; “reading”

 

2. Use SYNONYMS for multiple searches

Example:

“at-risk”= “susceptible”

“students” = “youth”

“reading” = “comprehension”

 

3. Use BOOLEAN OPERATORS to create a search string:

  • Use AND in between keywords to NARROW results

 Example:

   “communication” AND  “social media”

 

  • Use OR in between keywords to BROADEN results

  Example:

  “body language” OR  “non-verbal communication”

 

  • Use NOT in between keywords to EXCLUDE results 

  Example:

  “social media” NOT “Facebook”