Your searches will work best in most databases if you break your topic apart and then combine the concepts with AND/OR. This is called Boolean logic and is named after a mathematician
AND - narrows your searches
Ex. Piracy AND maritime
OR - broadens your searches
Ex. piracy OR pirates
Most databases will have pull down boxes where you can select AND or OR.
You can also use these together by using parentheses; in some databases, each set of parentheses will be on a separate search line.
(piracy OR pirates) AND (maritime OR ocean* OR seas* OR Somali*)
NOT can be used to exclude terms that send your search in the wrong direction. Sometimes you have to use "AND NOT."
(piracy OR pirates) AND NOT (online OR software)
The above in pictures
OR - gets all the info from both circles
AND - gets only the info where the circles overlap
