Operator/Symbol | Description | Use | Example |
---|---|---|---|
AND | Boolean Operator | Use between two or more terms to search for articles that contain ALL terms. This narrows results | economy AND trade AND deficit |
OR | Boolean Operator | Use between two or more terms to search for articles that contain ANY of the terms. This expands results. | entreprise OR business OR corporation |
"x" | Quotation Marks | Searches for articles that contain the exact phrase. This narrows results. | "corporate social responsibility" |
* | Asterisk | Use after the root of a word to retrieve alternative word endings. For example, Canad* retrieves Canada, Canada's, Canadian, and Canadians. This expands results. | Canad* |
() | Parentheses | Use to group terms that are synonyms or closely related terms together. Databases will process Boolean operators inside parentheses first before processing operators between groups of terms enclosed in parentheses. | "social responsibility" AND (business OR corporation) |