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Business Database Search Strategies

Strategies for navigating business databases.

Boolean Operators

Description Example
Use AND, OR, NOT to limit, expand, or exclude search results. 

AND: Limits search results. Only includes results that contain all search terms. 

  • mental health AND college students 

OR: Expands search results. Includes results that contain at least one of your search terms. 

  • Useful with synonyms: climate change OR global warming

NOT: Removes results with your selected word/phrase.

  • primates NOT orangutans
  • therapy NOT physical

Search Terms

Venn diagrams of the boolean operators: AND is an overlap of the circle, OR is both of the circles and the overlap, and NOT is only one of the circles not including the overlap.

Need More Help?

Grainger Engineering Library Information Center's STEM Entrepreneurship & Business Services can assist you in getting started with these and other resources.  If you have any questions, please e-mail bis@library.illinois.edu. 

Need help? Contact STEM-E-BIS at bis@library.illinois.edu