A search function for dummies

I see from the forum discussions that this subject is a recurring topic. I need a simple search interface to allow users to search a list of publications by keyword. I've seen the form at https://creator.zoho.com/sampleapps/search-records-in-a-form/# which is where responders usually point people asking this question. I understand how to copy the search form to my account. I cannot however figure out how to modify it to return the results I need. I can't 'follow the logic of the form' because I don't understand the logic of the form.

For future reference this would be an excellent feature to build as a view option. It would even help if we could edit the list of drop down options for the built-in search functions. I find it a powerful tool, but my users do not find the list of options such as "is/is not/contains/etc." intuitive. They want a simple input field like Google.