Boolean operators are words used to connect two or more terms within a search. They are commonly "AND," "OR" and "NOT." Here are some tips for using each different connecting word.
AND will make your search smaller. If you are retrieving too many records on your topic, try adding another search term with the operator AND.
For example: "krispy kreme" AND marketing
OR will make your search bigger. If you are retrieving too few records on your topic, try adding another search term with the operator OR.
For example: (adolescents OR teenagers)
NOT will exclude a word from your search results. If you are retrieving too many records on an unrelated topic, try eliminating a word with the operator NOT.
For example: dolphins NOT football
Looking for some basic search tips? These tricks can help broaden or refine your results.
Phrase Searching
To search for two or more words in the exact order in which they are entered you should enclose the phrase in quotation marks " ".
For example: "obsessive compulsive disorder"
Truncation
Truncation allows you to search the root form of a word with all its different endings by adding a symbol to the end of a word. Truncation symbols vary by database (check the help screens or ask a Librarian), but are usually one of the below:
* (asterisk)
! (exclamation point)
? (question mark)
For example: advertis* will search for advertise, advertisement, advertising, advertises