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Omni Search Tips

Search Strategies

Omni can search three different domains:

  1. Brock Library 's physical and online resources
  2. Brock Library + Omni Libraries: adds physical resources from 15 partner university libraries
  3. Open Access and vast online academic e-resources

 

  
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Applying  "Boolean Operators" and Other Tips to Focus Results

Boolean Operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT) used as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search, resulting in more focused and customized results. AND, OR, NOT must be capitalized.

Search Tip Examples
AND connects terms; it requires both terms to be in each resource returned by the search.
 

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Additional example: happiness AND productivity AND workplace

OR expands results; either term (or both) will be in each resource returned by the search.

 

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Additional example: happiness OR contentment OR fulfillment

NOT excludes terms; search results will not include the second term entered.

 

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Additional example: gambling NOT lottery

"Quotations" can be used for exact phase searching.

 

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Additional example: "early childhood education"

Truncation* expands your search to include various word endings and spellings.

 

Add an asterisk * to the root of any word to capture all alternative spellings.

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In the example above, results will capture child, children, childhood, childbearing, childrearing, etc.

 

Additional example: cultur* will produces results with culture, cultures, cultural, culturally, etc.

 

Wildcard ? expands your search to include variable spellings.

 

Add a question mark ? to represent any letter in a word.

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Additional example: favo?rite to also capture favourite

Brackets can be used to group or "nest" terms when using Boolean Operators.

 

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Additional example: "climate change" AND (ecosystem OR habitat)
Auto-search and expansion.

Omni will sometimes automatically include related terms. An option to limit by the specific term entered will appear.

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Additional example: searching for ADHD returns results with "attention deficit disorder."