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The Eight-fold Path to Right Searching: Tips, Tasks, & Tools
course content by P. F. Anderson, pfa@umich.edu,
presented by P. F. Anderson and Karen Reiman-Sendi.
Tip #3: Boolean Operators, Part 1: Especially OR
Tips:
Basics |
"1" |
(2) |
3=OR |
4=site |
5=filetype |
+6 |
-7 |
~8 |
More Tips (Refinements):
Compare |
Truncate |
Terms |
Quality |
Features |
Features 2 |
Expert |
Redux
If you are familiar with advanced searching in a library-type of database, such as Medline (PubMed) or PsycLit or others, the OR operand is used in the same way it would be there. The OR is used to make a larger group of search results for concepts with a related theme. Use this when you want any of the terms, not all of the terms. This type of searching is often referred to as Boolean searching or as using Boolean operators. Other traditional Boolean operators include AND and NOT. The AND operator is assumed as a default by most Internet search engines, and can usually be left out. The NOT operator is supported more rarely, and for Internet search engines, the minus sign is usually used instead of the word (see #7 below).
Examples:
Tips:
Basics |
"1" |
(2) |
3=OR |
4=site |
5=filetype |
+6 |
-7 |
~8 |
More Tips (Refinements):
Compare |
Truncate |
Terms |
Quality |
Features |
Features 2 |
Expert |
Redux
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"Not such a devilish lot of choice between a frog and a snake -- except on the side of the frog? What? Anyway, any pet that girl wants is hers, I don't care if it's a leaping twelve-toed lobster or a whale-bodied scorpion. Get me?" -- Merritt, A. "Chapter XII: The End of the Journey." The Moon Pool. URL: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/765
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