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Boolean Operations

Boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT allow users to broaden or narrow search results. AND retrieves items containing both search terms. OR retrieves items containing either term. NOT excludes items containing the excluded term. Parentheses can control the order of operations when combining multiple Boolean operators.

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24 views1 page

Boolean Operations

Boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT allow users to broaden or narrow search results. AND retrieves items containing both search terms. OR retrieves items containing either term. NOT excludes items containing the excluded term. Parentheses can control the order of operations when combining multiple Boolean operators.

Uploaded by

hemapaluri50
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Boolean Operators: And, Or, Not

Most databases and search engines support Boolean logic (Figure 1).
Boolean operators offer the searcher the ability to broaden or restrict a search, by connecting or limiting search terms. If a re-
source you are searching offers Boolean functionality, you may do the following:

Example:
pedestrian AND bridge will ONLY retrieve items that contain both words, but not limited to the
phrase “pedestrian bridge”

 Broaden the search using the “or” operator. You are more likely to use this functionality in a search when you are aware
of similar terms for a concept, e.g., “ ‘active transport’ or ‘sustainable transport.’”

Example:
pedestrian OR bridge will retrieve items that contain either pedestrian or bridge

FIGURE 1 Boolean Logic

 Exclude certain terms using the NOT operator.

Example:
pedestrian NOT bridge will ONLY retrieve items that contain the word pedestrian, excluding those
that also have the word bridge in them

 Most search engines allow more than one Boolean operator to be used in the same search. Use parenthesis to control
the order in which the search items are combined.

Example:
(pedestrian OR walker) AND (bridge OR footbridge) will retrieve items that either use pedestrian or
walker in the same record as either bridge or footbridge

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