Searching
Creating a Search Query
Phrases | logical operators | truncation | wild cards | nesting
Most databases don't understand the natural language we speak and need help understanding what we're looking for. For this, they require a special set of conventions, including:
| Quotation marks | Around exact phrases (e.g. "Humboldt State University ") |
| Logical or Boolean operators | Connecting words that narrow or broaden a search to include only what you need. Examples: OR, AND, NOT |
|
Wildcards and truncation symbols (* # ? !) |
For terms that have variant forms of spelling or different possible endings. Examples: child* for child, children, childhood, childish, etc. |
| Nesting | Placing terms in parentheses to indicate separate units. (Like an equation, (A or B) not C |
Databases and search engines apply these rules differently, so check HELP files to find out how to use them.
Click on the links below for a demonstration of each strategy. Select either an animated movie or a static image. For text only version, use image.
| Function | Search Strategy |
 |
 |
|
 |
||||
| Narrowing | AND | movie | image | ||
| NOT | movie | image | |||
|
||||
| Broadening | OR | movie | image | ||
| Wildcard | movie | image | |||
|
||||
| Combining | Nesting | movie | image | ||
