Test Your Database Skills

1. If you wanted to find results about dogs but not dachshunds which of the following search queries would be best?

Dogs AND dachshunds

Dogs NOT dachshunds

Dogs OR dachshunds

Use NOT whe you wish to exclude terms from your search results. This can be a good way to cut down the number of results.

Explanation

Use NOT whe you wish to exclude terms from your search results. This can be a good way to cut down the number of results.

2. If you wanted to find out about university students chocolate consumption which of the following search queries would be best?

Chocolate AND students

Chocolate OR students

Chocolate NOT students

Using AND between your terms will find the intersection between them and ensure that both terms are prsent in each individual search result

Explanation

Using AND between your terms will find the intersection between them and ensure that both terms are prsent in each individual search result

3. If you type child* into a search query box, what words are most likely to be present in your search results?

Just the word child

Chile, chilli,

Child, children children's, childless

Using a truncation symbol (*, $, ?) will find all words beginning with the word stem you have specified but which have variant endings

Explanation

Using a truncation symbol (*, $, ?) will find all words beginning with the word stem you have specified but which have variant endings

4. If you wanted to find research about either Australia or New Zealand which of the following search queries would be best?

Australia AND New Zealand

Australia OR New Zealand

Australia NOT New Zealand

Using OR between search terms ensures at least one of the terms is present in your search results

Explanation

Using OR between search terms ensures at least one of the terms is present in your search results

5. Which of the following would extend your search to include more results? (May be more than one answer)

Try another database

Add in synonyms for your search terms and combine with OR

Add in additional terms and combine with AND

Adding synonyms for search terms and combining them with OR would extend the search to include more results because it expands the range of possible keywords that can be used to retrieve relevant information. Trying another database would also increase the chances of finding additional results, as different databases may have different content and sources.

Explanation

Adding synonyms for search terms and combining them with OR would extend the search to include more results because it expands the range of possible keywords that can be used to retrieve relevant information. Trying another database would also increase the chances of finding additional results, as different databases may have different content and sources.

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6. Which of the following would reduce the number of results retrieved in a database search? (May be more than one answer)

Add in another term and combine with OR

Add in another term and combine with AND

Restrict your search to the titles of books, chapters or articles only

Search using subject headings

Adding another term and combining it with AND would reduce the number of results retrieved because it narrows down the search by requiring that both terms be present in the results. Restricting the search to the titles of books, chapters, or articles only would also reduce the number of results as it excludes other parts of the database. Searching using subject headings would further narrow down the results by focusing on specific topics or categories.

Explanation

Adding another term and combining it with AND would reduce the number of results retrieved because it narrows down the search by requiring that both terms be present in the results. Restricting the search to the titles of books, chapters, or articles only would also reduce the number of results as it excludes other parts of the database. Searching using subject headings would further narrow down the results by focusing on specific topics or categories.

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