Final answer:
Search engines employ procedural rules, and utilizing specific terms or operators like AND or NOT can refine search results. The use of appropriate key terms is vital for efficient searches, especially in academic research.
Step-by-step explanation:
Search engines require that you enter a word or phrase, called search text or a query, that describes the item you want to find. When you input terms into a search engine without any operators, it generally assumes an AND between each word. To refine your search and make phrases more specific, you can use the AND operator in conjunction with quotation marks, such as in the phrase: “ethics” AND “artificial intelligence”. This tells the search engine to look for pages containing both of the terms 'ethics' and 'artificial intelligence'.
When beginning the research process, if you find that certain words or ideas don’t yield satisfactory results, it may be necessary to practice generating key terms. Keywords are essential because they are used by search engine algorithms to find results related to your topic. To successfully locate sources, especially in academic contexts, you might also note that library databases often utilize Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) while internet databases rely on different procedural rules and algorithms unique to the database. Recording a variety of terms associated with your research area can be advantageous for both keyword and subject searches throughout your research process.
Knowing procedural rules and operators can significantly improve your search results. For instance, using NOT in your search, like “artificial intelligence” NOT “self-driving cars”, will exclude all results that include the term 'self-driving cars' from your search results. Thus, understanding and leveraging search engine mechanics can help you find more accurate and relevant information for your research.