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Business Research Toolkit

Modeled on the University of Alabama at Birgmingham, Sterne Library's award winning Business Research Toolkit Program, GMU's version is now self-paced and asynchronous. The hands-on program introduces participants to business resources and research.

Advanced Database Search Strategies

Place phrases (or company names with more than one word) in quotation marks. This forces the database or search engine to find those exact words in that order.

Truncation allows you to search for multiple words by using a word's root. Most databases and search engines use the asterisk (*) symbol for truncation.

Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) allow you to combine or exclude search terms and produce more focused and relevant search results. The OR connector is especially useful when searching using synonyms.

Proximity searching allows you to specify the maximum number of words between search terms. This is useful when you want to find terms that are close to one another but are not necessarily a phrase. The most common syntax for proximity searching is: n/X (ABI/Inform, Nexis Uni) and nX (Business Source Complete). The X represents the maximum number of words between the search terms.

Resources Covered

Additional Resources