Below are some simple examples on how to use
Boolean logic
every time you are doing a search on the web.
| + (plus sign) | Use it to mark words that must appear in each Web page. If there’s no
plus sign, the word can be considered a request, not a requirement (particularly if there
is a string of words). +Bill Gates: This will require that Bill appear, but Gates will be a request. |
- (minus sign) |
Marks words that cannot appear in any Web page on the results list. Use
this to exclude pages containing a particular work. Bill – Clinton: This will request Bill, but exclude anything on Bill Clinton. |
" " (quotation marks) |
Indicates exact multiple-word phrases. Without quotation marks, the search
engine may assume that the phrase is a list of separate query terms. "Bill Gates at Microsoft" will return a list of Web pages containing that exact phrase. In contrast, the query: Bill Gates at Microsoft (without quotes) returns pages containing the words Bill, Gates, and Microsoft, not necessarily in that order. |
AND |
Connects two search terms, both of which must appear in each web page on
the results list. Be sure to use capital AND. Most (but not all) search sites assume this
operator by default. Gates AND Microsoft |
OR |
Connects two words, at least one of which should appear on each Web page
returned by the query. This is a good way to connect synonyms or alternate spellings. Be
sure to use capital OR. Bill OR William OR Gates |
NOT |
Is used much like the minus sign to exclude words. For some engines, it
must be used with AND or OR. Be sure to use capital NOT. Bill AND William NOT Clinton |
( ) (Parentheses) |
Use parentheses to connect grouped terms. Microsoft AND (Bill AND Gates). This query should return pages about Microsoft that have both Bill and Gates mentioned in them. |
* (wild card or truncation) |
HotBot and most search engines will assume automatic truncation and search
on the root plus endings. In Alta Vista and others, however, the asterisk symbolizes any
amount of letters chopped off at the end of the word. Read the tips pages. HotBot
won’t return any results for a word truncated with an asterisk The query term Micro* returns information about Microsoft, Microcomputers, Micron, etc. |
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