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Information Literacy Tutorial

Information Literacy Tutorial

Phrase Searching

Some databases automatically search for phrases or adjacent words. Some databases do not have this capability. In some databases, adjacent words will only be treated as phrases when they are enclosed by quotes ("  ").  Check the database Help screens for details. For example:

Keyword search: 

"hearing aids"

A database search with phrase searching would yield: 

  • Aging, Hearing Loss, and Hearing Aids: Myths Revisited
  • A database search without phrase searching would yield:
  • AIDS, HIV Still a Big Problem in Phila., Witnesses at City Council Hearing Say