Research databases contain vast amounts of information. A well-constructed search string helps you narrow down your results, saving time by focusing on the most relevant sources rather than sifting through countless irrelevant ones. Combining this with the filters available in our WorldCat Discovery system and databases will help narrow your searches to materials that meet the requirements of your assignment or research.
By carefully selecting keywords and using operators such as AND, OR, NOT, "", (), and * you can target specific concepts and topics, ensuring that the articles or papers you retrieve are directly related to your research question.
A poorly constructed search might yield too many results, making it hard to sift through everything. A targeted search string can prevent this information overload by filtering out unrelated material.