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ANS 2: Introduction to Animal Science

Building Search Term Lists and other Searching Tips

Searching library literature databases often requires including synonymous terms, if there is not a specific subject or thesaurus term from your database.  Build your search strategy by incorporating your appropriate synonyms as shown by the examples below.

Concept A

 Concept B Concept C Concept D Concept D Concept E
pre-natal post-natal maternal young behav* cattle
pre-birth post-birth mother newborn etholog* cow
? ? ? ? ? ?

 

  • Combine your synonyms with OR,  such as: maternal OR mother OR dam  ….
  • Concepts that you wish to cross or intersect, combine using AND, such as:  cow AND maternal AND behavior  {all words required}
  • MORE than one spelling possibility (American vs. British) or want to pick up plurals?   Use a wildcard, such as the asterisk (*) at the end of words … (this same wildcard is used in CAB Abstracts, AGRICOLA, BIOSIS Previews, and PsycINFO)    ewe* AND nurs* AND behav*