Aviation Science

Keyword Searching

Search for articles and other resources in the library database by using keywords. Keep in mind that the search will find matches for specific words, not concepts. The default in most databases is to find results that include every word in your search. Think of this as using AND between the words: 

• aviation technology AND careers
• aviation technology careers

The two searches above are the same, and will find all articles that have all three words in the description of the article. 

If you want to find a specific phrase, with the words next to each other in order, use double quotation marks around the phrase:

• "aviation technology" 

You might want to refine your search to include synonyms or other related words. To find either of two words or phrases, use OR between them:

• "aviation technology" OR "flight technology"
•  (aviation OR flight) AND technology AND United States

You can also use truncation to search for different forms of a word. The asterisk * is used in the databases for this function. 

• aviat*

This truncation will find the words aviate, aviator, aviators, aviatrix, aviation, etc. 

When combining searches, use parentheses around like terms within the search (aviation OR flight), as in the examples above.