boolean logic … and other search strategies that work!

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Boolea n Logic … and other search strategies that work!

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Page 1: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

BooleanLogic

… and other search strategies that work!

Page 2: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Using Boolean Logic and Other Techniques to

Enhance Search Statements

Because the Internet is so huge, searches will often provide too many results. When creating search statements you should take advantage of additional techniques to refine your search results.

Page 3: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Boolean Logic

Boolean logic, particularly the use of the Boolean operator AND, is the most important technique for limiting results in any database or search engine. These techniques include:

Page 4: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

The principal Boolean operators are:

Boolean Operator

s

Use for Examples

AND + Use AND to get fewer search results

cake AND chocolate

OR Use OR to get more search results

adolescents OR teenagers

NOT - Use NOT to get fewer search results

media NOT radio

Page 5: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

ANDRetrieves only records that contain

both words- Combine your key concepts using AND

Page 6: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

NOTEliminates material you don’t want- Be careful not to get rid of stuff you

might actually need

Page 7: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

ORRetrieves matches for either term, so you

get more records. Use with terms that have about the same meaning in your

search

Page 8: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

NestingCombine AND and OR in a single search.

This technique divides your terms into units like an equation, by using parentheses.

Examples: •fruit AND (apple OR orange) •(fruit AND juice) AND apple •fruit AND (apple OR orange) AND juice •(fruit AND juice) AND (apple OR orange) •((fruit AND juice) AND (apple OR orange)) AND NOT banana

Page 9: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

NOmedia AND politics OR election retrieves records that

match "media that also match politics" OR retrieves records that match "election." 

YES media AND (politics OR election) retrieves records that match media that also match either politics OR

election.

Page 10: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Truncation and Wildcard

Truncation is a technique that enables a searcher to look for a word and any of its

possible endings. This is sometimes called using a "wildcard" as it usually enables the searcher to insert a symbol as a wild card at

the end of a word.

This symbol instructs the computer to look for the root of the word and all alternate word

endings or variations of a word and expands your search results

Page 11: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Use a symbol (like an asterisk * , !, or ?) at the end of a word to replace any number of letters

(truncation). Example: teen*

teen,  teens,  teenager,  teenagers,  teenaged

Use 1 or more symbols within a word to replace 1 or more letters (wildcard)

Example: wom?n women woman

Truncation and Wildcard

Page 12: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Use enough of a root word not to confuse the computer. Using opera*

to search for operations retrieves opera, operant, operable etc.

Page 13: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

In most search engines, and in many databases, it is possible to search for a phrase, or two or more words appearing next to each other. The most common method for doing this is to surround the phrase with quotation marks.

Phrase Searching

Page 14: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

For example:

A search for "acid rain" will look for those words in the database only when they

appear next to each other.

Other examples:

“May the force be with you”

“Hillary Clinton”

“presidential election 2008”

Page 15: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Use 6 to 8 key words in your query

More keywords chosen at the appropriate “level” will give you a smaller and more focused list of hits, greatly reducing the possible documents returned.

Examples: new, planet, planets, discover, solar, system.

 

Page 16: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Limiting and expanding a database search

Many databases will offer additional methods for limiting and refining search results. Some of these limiters may include:

–full text •you can search only for full text articles

–peer reviewed•you can search only for articles that are considered peer reviewed

–date range•you can search only for articles that have been published during a specific time period

Page 17: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Learning to use the database options

Use the help screens, and advanced search options

Remember that every database is different, offering different ways to create search statements or use controlled vocabulary. Each database will usually provide help screens to explain how to search effectively within that database.

Page 18: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

TIP: Be aware that each database and search engine may use Boolean logic in a different way.

For example:In Yahoo and other search engines you can use the plus sign “+” as a Boolean “AND” or the “-” as a Boolean “NOT”.

Some search engines have pop down lists to help. In Yahoo, a pop down menu helps you to focus your search. In Google, you can use the advanced search feature.

Page 19: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

EBSCOhostEBSCOhost allows you to select the

database that you want to search- so you can choose the one/ones that best suit your topic. These include:

• Academic Search Premier• Communications and Mass Media Complete• Health Source- Consumer Edition• Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection• Professional Development Collection• Religion and Philosophy Collection

Page 20: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Special EBSCOhost Features

Another feature of EBSCOhost that you might find valuable is the “Folder Option.” This option allows you to store items in a folder for a future session. To use this option, you will need to create an “account” first. Or you can just email them to yourself!

Page 21: Boolean Logic … and other search strategies that work!

Want to practice some of these strategies?

Go to:

http://www-navigator.utah.edu/module3/fridge.swf