Many of the databases (for journal articles and books) follow standard search strategies:
Using Quotation Marks
Using quotations marks means that the database will search for the entire phrase, not the individual words.
"African American"
"performance art"
"reproductive rights"
"marriage equality"
"male privilege"
"gender-neutral"
Using *
When you put an asterisk at the end of a search term it searches for words with any possible ending.
"African American*" = African American or African Americans
feminis* = feminism or feminist or feminists
women* = women or womens
female* = female or females
lesbian* = lesbian or lesbians
activis* = activism or activist or activists
lgbt* = lgbt or lgbtq or lgbtq+
use - or - to connect synonyms or like concepts
any of the words can be present
This is useful if there might be multiple ways to refer to your topic
gay or lesbian* or homosexual* or lgbt* or queer
restroom or bathroom
poem or poetry
policy or policies
"pink capitalization" or "pink money" or "pink economy"
use - and - to connect concepts
all terms must be included
gender
and
bathroom*or restroom*
------------
gay or lesbian* or homosexual* or lgbt* or queer
and
activist*
