Module 3: SDLN Examples and Practice Search Techniques -- Boolean Operators

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Boolean operators are connector words that tell the system how to combine the words which describe the topic being searched. Three of these operators are AND, OR, and NOT.

::::: Use AND to connect two words when both words must appear in the same document.

For example:

crime and juvenile

finds only items with both "crime" and "juvenile," so the set of results is smaller
and more specific than if only one of the terms had been searched.

For example:

guns and violence

finds only items with both "guns" and "violence," so the set of results is smaller
and more specific than if only one of the terms had been searched.

::::: Use OR to connect two words when either word must be in the document.

For example:

holidays or festivals

finds items with either the term "holidays" or the term "festivals, so the set of results
is larger than if only one of these terms had been searched.

For example:

women or females or girls

finds items with either the term "women" or the term "females" or the term "girls,"
so the set of results is larger than if only one of these terms had been searched.

:::::Use NOT when a word must not appear anywhere in the item retrieved.

For example:

aids not disease

finds items with "aids" but eliminates any of these items that also mention "disease."

For example:

guns not hunting

finds items with "guns" but eliminates any of these items that also mention "hunting."

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