Refining your search with Boolean Operators

Database Searching Boolean Operators: AND When you need to “narrow” your search, reducing the number of items returned by the database, one method is to make your search more specific by adding search terms to the original. These terms are connected with the term “AND”. The “AND” command instructs the search engine to return only items which have ALL of your search terms.

Database Searching Boolean Operators: AND AND The area of overlap represents what the search engine returns when you use an “AND” operator.

Database Searching Boolean Operators: OR To broaden your search to include synonyms, use the Boolean Operator “OR”. The “OR” command instructs the database to return items with at least one of the search terms used.

OR Database Searching Boolean Operators: OR The “OR” Operator would require the search engine to return items with AT LEAST one search term. The overlapped area WOULD be included.

Database Searching Boolean Operators: NOT Sometimes your search returns items that are irrelevant to your search. When the reason is the persistent connection of an unrelated term with your search term, the Boolean Operator “NOT” is useful. The “NOT” Operator instructs the search engine to return only items that have your search term without the term that follows the “NOT”.

Database Searching Boolean Operators: NOT NOT “NOT” forces the database to exclude your search term if it is linked to the unwanted term so you would get back only what is blue.

Now use your new found knowledge to go out and search! Finding new things is half the fun