Use the thesaurus to identify your search terms first! You will save time and energy by using descriptors instead of keywords.  Use the "Search History" to combine searches.

ERIC is known for its thorough and complete index.  Those index terms (i.e. subject headings) are called descriptors.  You can find the descriptors for your subject by searching the Thesaurus first.  The Thesaurus is found on blue bar at the top of your screen.

When you click on the Thesaurus link, the screen will change, and you will use the second search box to find terms in the Thesaurus.

It will be less confusing in the long run, if you search just one concept at a time; then use the Search History to combine your concepts together using the operators, AND, OR, and NOT.

Here is an example of a simple search.  To combine concepts, check the boxes of the searches and click the big "Search with AND" button (there is another button for an OR search).