Combine Search Terms Using OR (#13)

Some resources will allow you to combine your keywords in different ways. One of those ways is to combine terms using the word “or”.

Venn diagram showing the overlap of words that mean the same thing

You use OR to combine words that mean the same thing. Authors may refer to the same thing using different terminology. To ensure that your search retrieves all the items relevant you should include a range of terms.

For example someone may refer to “kidney disease” but another person may call it “renal disease”. Your search needs to return both sets of information, so you should search for items that contain either kidney OR renal disease.

Here’s a short animation from HEE explaining the use of OR:

You can learn more about how to combine search terms by completing our etutorial Develop Your Search Skills.

Comments

Literature Searching in a Nutshell for Keele University Students

Complete this online course from Keele Campus Library to get quickly up to speed with the key concepts of literature searching, including: What is literature searching? Creating a search strategy Conducting a search Refining search results Complete Literature Searching in a Nutshell [Keele log in required] For more help with literature searching: Take a look at more etutorials Book a training session Contact the Health Library

Login to Library Search – step-by-step instructions for NHS staff

Library Search is a discovery tool, allowing you to find items within the library collections. You can search Library Search without logging in to view books and ebooks available in our collections. By logging in to your library account on Library Search you can access a range of additional functionality, such as: Viewing details of your library account Submitting a request to hold a book for you Adding items to your e-bookshelf Saving searches Note that for NHS users logging in to Library Search does not give you access to full-text items. As an NHS member of staff you access online resources using your NHS OpenAthens username. Anatomy of a Library Card First let’s take a quick look at the most important components of your library card. Your library card and library card number give you access to print resources as well as library services. They confirm that you are a member of the library. Your name : this will be printed on your card, so you’ll know it’s yours!...

Which resources can NHS staff access?

Need access to journals and articles? Want guidelines or recommended practice? Are you looking for case reports or drug reference texts? Want to be confident of the clinical decisions you make? Complete our short tutorial Finding NHS Resources to quickly learn about the wealth of material that you can access. You'll learn: Which essential resources you can use How to access NHS resources How you can learn more about NHS resources Contact the Health Library for more help finding the information you need.

Information Skills for Health

Search This Blog