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Library Handout Packet
Library Handout Packet
Three-Step Process
From your thesis statement or research question, identify the main concepts or keywords. By creating a list of
keywords, you will be able to construct better and more efficient searches. These in turn will lead you to more
plentiful and relevant information supporting your thesis.
Follow the three-step process below for discovering keywords. It is helpful to keep track of the keywords on a
sheet of paper or a word processing document for reference.
1
https://www.seminolestate.edu/library
2
Now it is your turn to come up with search terms (or keywords) for your research. List as many as you can think
of in the space provided below. Highlights or circle the words that help you find what you are looking for when
you use them to search.
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Diet
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Health
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fasting
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intermittent
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Benefits
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UFO
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Aliens
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Flying objects
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Unidentified
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Other-world
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Phenomena
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UAP
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3
Phrase Searching
Enclose phrases, proper names, and titles with quotation marks. Adding quotations keeps all the words
together so the search engine, database, or library catalog does not search for them as individual words.
Examples:
physical activity → "physical activity"
Affordable Care Act → "Affordable Care Act"
Ernest Hemingway → "Ernest Hemingway"
Boolean Term: OR
Use OR to search with synonyms and expand results. With OR, you tell the search system that you are equally
interested in multiple terms. This is an ideal to search strategy to use with synonyms and is very effective when
combined with an AND term.
Examples:
→ "physical activity" OR exercise
→ elderly OR "aging adults" OR "older adults"
→ running OR cardio AND obesity
2
https://www.seminolestate.edu/library
4
Now it is your turn to come up with search statements for your research. List as many as you can think of in the
space provided below. Make sure to use the Boolean terms (and, or, not). Highlights or circle the statements that
help you find what you are looking for when you use them to search.
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Intermittent fasting and the benefits
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Fasting and health
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Eating healthy and weight loss
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Intermittent fasting or regular fasting
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Fasting a benefit or a negative
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Intermittent fasting not eating healthy
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Intermittent fasting not eating less
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Exercise or fast?
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Fasting and exercise or just one or the other
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Best fast and fastest results
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