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Advanced searching techniques can help you fine-tune your searching and can get you more desirable results faster.
When searching, use the boolean operators AND, OR, NOT with the drop down menu on the advanced search screen, or include these operators between words on the basic library search screen. Boolean operators should be capitalized.
Use quotation marks around words that you would like to keep together.
Search | Results |
"human evolution" | Must contain the words 'human evolution' beside each other in correct order |
human evolution | Must contain the words human and evolution; not necessarily together, though it may be prioritized as a phrase |
The question mark (?) will match any one character. For example, the search:
defen?e
This will find results for defense or defence. This is great when there may be spelling variants of a particular term.
The asterisk (*) will match zero or more characters within a word. For example:
Ch*ter
This will find results for “Charter”, “Character”, “Chapter”, etc.
Truncation allows you to use the asterisk (*) at the end of a word, e.g.:
Child*
This will match all suffixes, so in this case results would include "child", "child's", and "children", among others.
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PLEASE NOTE: This site was designed solely for informational purposes for the Seneca Polytechnic community. All other users are encouraged to check and confirm the information needed with their institution or public library. This site is prepared by library staff and is not reviewed by legal council.