Most, but not all, search engines incorporate Boolean searching as an advanced form of linking keywords. The results will narrow the number of pages pertaining to your keywords. Sometimes, if you look carefully on the search page, you can find an icon or phrase that will say "advanced searches." This will lead you to a page that will accept full Boolean terms. Also, there are usually instructions included on that Web page. When making a search, analyze your idea and try to state it clearly in a simple sentence.
| Search terms | What you enter in search box |
I want to buy a dog, but I'm not sure of what breed | AND or (+)
Finds Web pages containing all keywords |
dogs AND buy AND puppies AND breed
+ dogs + buy + puppies + breed |
If I buy a dog, how will I groom and take care of it? | OR
Finds Web pages containing any and all keywords. Using synonyms will increase your chances of finding pages. |
buy OR purchase AND dogs OR puppies AND grooming OR cleaning AND care OR raising |
"When taking care of your new dog" | "Phrase search"
Use quotation marks to look for a specific phrase |
"when taking care of your new dog" |
I want to buy a dog, but I'm not sure what breed. | AND NOT or (-)
Retrieves Web pages containing one keyword but not the other. Helps in reducing the number of pages you don't want. Make sure to use quotation marks if keywords could be a specific phrase. |
dogs AND buy AND breed AND NOT "School of" AND NOT "school" +dogs +breeds +grooming - "School of" - "School" |
What kind of dog breed? | Asterisk (*)
By truncating a keyword and placing an asterisk at its end, search engines find variations for the word. |
dog AND breed* (will result in breed, breeds, breeding, and breeders of dogs) |
I want to see Beagles, Dalmations and Bulldogs | Comma (,)
A comma is used to separate and search for proper nouns. |
Beagles, Dalmations, Bulldogs |
I want to find the Web page "Raising and caring for your dog" | Title search (title:)
Searches the titles of Web pages |
Title: Raising and caring for your dog |
Remember to spell keywords properly. Sometimes the Web pages will have different ways of spelling the word. Search engines recognize keywords in all lowercase letters as either uppercase or lowercase letters. If you use initial capital letters or all capital letters, the search engine will return only pages that match your keyword exactly. San Francisco Chronicle, August 30, 1999 Sources: U.C. Berkeley, Chronicle research |
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