How do I use Booleans while searching?
Answer
Booleans describe a logical relationship between search terms.
AND
cat AND dog
- Narrows your search
- Both words must be present
OR
cat OR dog
- Expands your search
- Either term may be present
NOT
cat NOT dog
- Refines your search
- Excludes the second word from your results
Quotation Marks
"Orange Tabby Cat" NOT "Grey Tabby Cat"
- exact phrase search
- Excludes the second keyword string from your results
Asterisk*
Cat NOT Dog*
- If you want to search multiple iterations of a keyword i.e. dogs
- Adds mulipule endings to a term i.e. Ski*= sking, skis, skied
Further explanations and other Boolean Operators
For more examples view our The Research Process Infoguide , Research Methods Core Infoguide for video examples and for in-depth search strategies including wildcards, grouping and nesting examples along with more videos.