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Boolean Search Word Map

The document explains Boolean search operators, including AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR, which help refine search results. It emphasizes that not all search engines support these operators and that they must be in uppercase. Additionally, it suggests using phrase searches and synonyms to improve search results for specific topics, such as 'flying car.'

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1 views

Boolean Search Word Map

The document explains Boolean search operators, including AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR, which help refine search results. It emphasizes that not all search engines support these operators and that they must be in uppercase. Additionally, it suggests using phrase searches and synonyms to improve search results for specific topics, such as 'flying car.'

Uploaded by

arwa mezar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Boolean Search Operators

For the purposes of a Boolean web search, these are the terms and symbols you need to know:

Boolean Symbol Explanation Example


Operator
AND + All words must be present in the results football AND nfl
OR Results can include any of the words paleo OR primal
NOT - Results include everything but the term that follows the diet NOT vegan
operator
NEAR The search terms must appear within a certain number of swedish NEAR
words of each other minister

Most search engines default to using the OR Boolean operator, meaning that you can type a bunch of
words and it will search for any of them, but not necessarily all of them.
Not all search engines support these Boolean operators. For example, Google understands - but doesn't
support NOT. Learn more about Boolean searches on Google for help.

Note: Boolean operators need to be in all uppercase letters for the search engine to understand them as
an operator and not a regular word.

Imagine you were carrying out a project to invent a flying car. The obvious words to use when searching
for this topic might be flying car. TOP TIP: Carrying out a phrase search is a simple way to improve your
results. You put two or more words into quotation marks so that the search engine will look for them
together (e.g., “flying car”). However, if you only search for flying car you might miss other resources
where someone has described it differently. You can find more resources by using synonyms (similar or
related terms). You can use a thesaurus, such as Thesaurus.com, to help you find different words.
Provide these other keywords as an example:

Flying Car
Fly Automobile
Flight Vehicle
Aviation Motor
Ariel Motor car
Aeronautical Transportation

Fisher, T. (2021). What is a Boolean search? Examples of Boolean operators. Lifewire, Retrieved from:
https://www.lifewire.com/what-does-boolean-search-
3481475#:~:text=A%20Boolean%20search%2C%20in%20the,)%20and%20%2D%20(subtract).

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