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The Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT are often used to combine keywords when searching electronic databases. Use of these
operators can make your search more focused, thus yielding more precise search results. But before using the operators, it's
necessary to understand how they actually work.
It is helpful to diagram the effects of these operators:
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A search for rock AND roll will locate all records containing both the word "rock" and the word "roll." It will locate items
about rock and roll music. It might also locate records that contain both words in a different context, such as "It recommends
you roll the rock quickly."
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A search for rock OR roll will locate all records containing either the word "rock" or the word "roll" -- not necessarily
both. It will retrieve items about bakery rolls, tumbling, rocks, music, gemstones, etc.
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A search for rock NOT roll will locate records containing the word "rock" but NOT the word "roll." It will retrieve items
about rocks, gemstones, diamonds, etc. Keep in mind that a search for "rock NOT roll" will return different records than the
search "roll NOT rock."
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Keep in mind that the connectors AND and NOT generally limit your search (decreases the number of hits) and the connector
OR expands it (increases the number of hits). So the following strategies naturally follow:
- If you are retrieving too many records on your topic, try adding another search term with the connector AND.
- If you are retrieving too many records on an unrelated topic, try eliminating a word with the connector NOT
- If you are retrieving too few records on your topic, try adding another search term with the connector OR.
Evaluating Print Sources | Evaluating Web Pages | Magazines and Journals | Primary and Secondary Sources | Truncation and Wild Cards | Word and Subject Searching
Questions or Comments? Contact
Linda Rich, Reference Coordinator
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