REFINING YOUR SEARCH

(14 minutes 17 seconds, formatted for Windows Media Player)

This video shows you how to refine a keyword search by using Boolean operators (AND, OR, AND NOT), truncation, and proximity. The Rensselaer Libraries' Catalog is used for the demonstrations, however the concepts can be applied to our periodical databases and to Internet search engines.

The video includes recorded demonstrations of searches. You can open the catalog in another browser window, then follow along with the demonstrations by pausing the videostream and doing the steps of the demonstration as they're presented. If you're unfamiliar with our catalog, please view the Catalog Keyword Search before this video. Your results may show slight variations as materials are added to the library's collection.

We used magnification software to make it easier for you to see the taped demonstrations. This results in an unusual display in the video, with the top of the screen showing a magnified image of the cursor area and the rest of the screen showing the catalog's pages as they would normally appear in a browser window.

Normal navigation was done in the lower, standard-sized window, with pauses for emphasis or typing in the magnified window.