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Research Guides

Public Policy and Governance

Welcome to research in Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto Libraries. This guide describes selected online and print reference resources.

Effective searching

Boolean searches

  • Boolean searches consist of the following operators: AND; NOT; OR
  • Use these words to link multiple words, and limit or expand your search results
    • Type Canada AND solar power to pull up resources in the catalogue that cite both search terms together
    • Type alternative energy NOT solar power to pull up resources in the catalogue that only cite the first search term, and omit those that cite both terms together
    • Type solar power OR wind farms to pull up resources that include at least one of the search terms

Truncation

  • Also known as 'wildcard'
  • Allows users to type the root of a word to display results with multiple endings
    • For example, if you type pollut*, you'll display resources that cite pollute, polluting, pollution, air pollution, runoff pollution, polluters, etc.

Evaluating websites (Ohio State University libraries)

  • An excellent resource designed to assist students in their critical assessment of online sources