
The operators must be written in ALL CAPS (there may be exceptions, but this is good practice and. A few tips to start: Three Boolean operators are recognized by most databases: AND, OR, and NOT. Examples of each term and search strategy are given below.

#A BOOLEAN SEARCH DOWNLOAD#
Also, when you need to do something specific: for example, find all mentions of your brand that don’t contain links to it.Ĭurious to learn more, become a Boolean search pro, and always receive only relevant results? Download our short and sweet guide by entering your email in the form below. Boolean searching (named after George Boole) is used by most databases to focus searches. For example, when your brand name is a common word. A leading minus sign before a word indicates this word must not be present in search results A leading tilde acts as a negation operator, causing. Use the asterisk wildcard character () to include alternative forms of wo rds, plurals, etc. By using this strategy you can focus your search query and eliminate, in some cases, thousands of search results that are not going to be helpful to you. In Boolean search mode words are searched exactly as they are typed. This following information details the additional options and power of boolean searches to make your searches more efficient. When is Boolean search used?īoolean search is used when you require stricter search criteria to eliminate unwanted results. A handy strategy to use when searching a periodical articles database or the entire Internet using a search engine such as Yahoo or Google is what is called a Boolean search. A boolean search uses two or more search words and typically requires both to be found (AND) or any one to be found (OR). to produce a more complicated search query. While most searches are done by entering a keyword and waiting for the result (in Google, YouTube, social listening tools, etc.), Boolean search allows entering keywords combined with Boolean operators such as AND, NOT, AND NOT, etc.
#A BOOLEAN SEARCH MANUAL#
Let’s get started! What is Boolean search?īoolean search is a manual type of search (as opposed to a wizard) used in search engines. From this cheat sheet, you’ll find out that all you really need is logic. Sometimes, it looks like you need a Bachelor in Informational Technology to create a Boolean search query.

The three Boolean operators you will use in. It's an information retrieval technique that allows several search words and phrases to be combined using operators or commands. Database administrators have used Boolean logic for decades. Today I’ll tell you about Boolean search. Boolean operators are used to combine concepts or ideas when searching. The word Boolean is derived from the 19th-century British mathematician George Boole, which, if nothing else, is a great factoid for your next dinner party.
