Unit 6 - Boolean Operators

Part 1: Practice Writing Boolean Search Statements

Remembering that “and” links key concepts and narrows a search, while “or” links synonyms and expands searches as well as allowing either key word to be retrieved, I used Google and the above Boolean operators to research the following five questions:

1.) Does television advertising by the pharmaceutical industry have an impact on prescription drug abuse?

B.O. used: “television advertising” and “pharmaceutical industry” and “impact on prescription drug abuse” or “prescription drug abusers”

2.) What breeds of dogs make good therapy pets?
B.O. used: “breed of dog” and “good therapy pet” or “best”

3.) What stand does the American Medical Association take on natural medicine?
B.O. used: “American medical associations”and “natural medicine” and “beliefs” or “opinion”

4.) Are big box stores like WalMart and Target good for the economy?
B.O. used: “WalMart” and “Target” or “big box store” and “good for economy” or “impact on economy"

5.) Does anti-smoking advertising by the tobacco industry lead to increased smoking among youth?
B.O. used: “anti-smoking advertisements” and “tobacco industry” and “increases smoking”
and “youth” or “young adults”

Part 2: Boolean and your Own Topic

I used the word “internet” as the base for my research in Unit 3. I added “who invented the internet” for further research, and will now use Boolean Operators to research and narrow my topic once again.

B.O. used: “internet” and “who invented” or when invented”

B.O. used: “who invented internet” and “when” or “date” or “time”or “year”

B.O. used: “al gore” and “internet” and “year invented” or “date invented”

B.O. used: “internet” and “who implemented” and “first person” or “name of inventor”