Phrase, boolean, and wildcard searching is used in search engines, databases, and on the web to define relationships between words and groups of words. They can help you refine your search to find the best possible results.
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AND |
Use AND to retrieve both search terms |
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OR |
Use OR to retrieve either search term(s) |
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NOT |
Use NOT to exclude search term(s) |
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" " |
Use " " to keep the order of words or phrases intact |
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( ) |
Use ( ) to organize the order of relationships in your search |
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* |
Use * to the end of a term to search all ending of the root word, e.g. govern* retrieves government, government, govern, governs, governor |
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? |
Use ? to find alternate spellings, e.g. wom?n retrieves woman or women |
Text is not case sensitive
Most search engines do not search punctuation or certain words, e.g. the, a, of, by
Always check the help section of the database or search engine that you are using, as advanced search options may differ.
