Boolean Operators
Broaden or narrow your results
- Use AND to retrieve results that contain both search terms: library AND college
- Use OR to retrieve results that contain any or all of your search terms: college OR university
- Using NOT to exclude irrelevant results: java NOT coffee
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Truncation
Use an asterisk (*) to replace part of a word
- librar* = library, libraries, librarian
- *plane = airplane, aeroplane, warplane
Use a question mark (?) to substitute one letter within a word
- analy?e = analyse, analyze
- wom?n = woman, women
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Quotation Marks
Retrieve more specific results
- Consider searching for a specific phrase: "global warming"
- Consider searching for a specific spelling of a word: "artefact" instead of "artifact"
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Synonyms
Use synonyms to explore results
- teenager: tween, adolescent, youth, juvenile
- benefit: advantage, influence, support, asset
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Adapted from Charles Stuart University Library
