Use this cheat sheet to improve your search skills when using academic databases and search engines. There are two main types of tools you can use: Boolean operators and search modifiers. Boolean operators help you combine or exclude terms to refine your search. Search modifiers, like quotation marks and asterisks, help control how your terms are interpreted.

Download a PDF of this cheat sheet and keep it handy so you can quickly refer to it when needed.

Tool	Type	Example	What It Does
AND	Boolean Operator	climate change AND policy	Narrows search to results containing both terms.
OR	Boolean Operator	teenagers OR adolescents	Broadens search to results with either term.
NOT	Boolean Operator	social media NOT Facebook	Excludes results with the second term.
"Quotation Marks"	Search Modifier	"climate change"	Finds the exact phrase as typed.
*Asterisk ()**	Search Modifier	educat*	Finds word variations like education, educator, etc.
Minus Sign (-)	Search Modifier (for Google)	social media -Facebook	Works like NOT in Google searches.