How to Formulate Queries Using Search Engines 1. Identify your concepts When conducting any search, you need to break down your topic into its component concepts. Once you have identified your concepts, you need to list keywords which describe each concept. Once you know the keywords you want to search, you need to establish the logical relationships among them. The formal name for this is Boolean logic.
Some search engines offer Boolean searching without mentioning the logical operators by name.
Any of these terms denotes OR logic. Tips on Conducting Web Searches Read the directions of each search engine you decide to use. There are a wide range of options for formulating searches depending on the engine you are using. If you have a multi-term search, use a Boolean search option if it is available. This will help you specify the logical relationships among your terms.