You truncate the root of the word and search for all the variant endings of that root. You will retrieve everything in the database on computers, computing, computerize, computerization, etc. See the Truncation Table for truncation symbols in the indexes and databases Wesleyan library subscribes to. Choose the most efficient place to truncate a term, i.e., do not truncate it such that your search will either retrieve a lot of information you are not interested in or leave out relevant information. Phrase searching searches for two or more words as one search term rather than as two or more individual words.
Most databases allow phrase searching by putting quotation marks around the phrase.
By using a phrase search, you can search for the entire phrase, stop words included. This is especially useful for searching full text databases. Specific commands for proximity searching vary between databases, so consult each database's help screens to use them properly. Some databases allow you to narrow your search by specifying just one type of source to find, e.g. books or journal articles or sound recordings. For example, the SearchPlus advanced searching page in Readers' Guide allows you to open a pull-down menu of a long list of specific publication types.