Boolean Searching

http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/researchingskills/images/boolean-and-or-with-no-brac.gif (Accessed 7-24-2009)

What Boolean Searching Can Do

1. Search full-text documents and web sites
2. Expand the search and increase the number of hits
3. Narrow the search and decrease the number of hits

What Boolean Searching Can Not Do

1. Search particular fields, such as Author, Title, Subject or Index
2. Rank results by chronological relevancy
3. Proximity searching (with some exceptions!)

What Commands Are Used In A Boolean Search?

1. AND and +
2. OR or
3. NOT not -

A fun, descriptive video about Boolean Searching from CSU:  http://lib.colostate.edu/tutorials/boolean.html

An award winning web site created by Laura Cohen:  http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.html