module 3 - keyword search tools

Library Skills

Finding Information on a Topic

MODULE 3 - Keyword search tools

A great advantage of keyword searching is the ability to combine more than one keyword in a search. To do this effectively, there are a number of techniques that need to be understood and used.

AND, OR, and NOT are the three connectors, known as Boolean operators, used to join two or more keywords, because computers cannot interpret natural language.
Nesting and truncation are techniques used to enhance keyword searching.

Boolean "AND"
the Boolean AND actually narrows your search by retrieving only documents that contain every one of the keywords you enter. The more terms you enter, the narrower you search becomes.

Boolean "OR"
the Boolean OR expands your search by returning documents in which either or both keywords appear. Since the OR operator is usually used for keywords that are similar or synonymous, the more keywords you enter, the more documents you will retrieve.

Boolean "NOT"
the Boolean NOT limits your search by returning only your first keyword but not the second, even if the first word appears in that document, too.

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