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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:
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Quotation marks |
Around exact phrases (e.g. "college of dupage") |
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Logical or Boolean operators |
Connecting words that narrow or broaden a search to include only what you need. Examples: OR, AND, NOT |
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Wildcards and truncation symbols |
For terms that have variant forms of spelling or different possible endings. Examples: child* for child, children, childhood, childish, etc. |
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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.
Function |
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Search Strategy |
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Narrowing |
AND |
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NOT |
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Broadening |
OR |
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Wildcard |
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Combining |
Nesting |
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