Search Engine Syntax

In general, if several words are entered in a search, a search engine will treat each word as an individual keyword. If you are searching for a phrase or the words need to be in a particular order, then you should put them in quotes so that they will be treated as a phrase. An example would be "information science". Even though information science is not technically a phrase, it is important that the order and closeness of the words are preserved. If quotation marks were not used around information science, then documents that contained information or science or information science would be retrieved. Search Syntax

There are several operators that are used universally used across almost all search engines. These operators can be used to refine your search query. The main operators will be discussed below.
AND
The operator AND matches all query terms with pages that contain all of the query terms. Examples of search queries using the AND operator are:

• internet AND filters: documents containing both internet and filters will be returned.
• internet AND censorship AND filters: documents containing all three words will be returned.

OR
The operator OR matches any query term with pages that contain any of the query terms. Examples of search queries using the OR operator are:

• circulation OR reference: documents containing the word circulation or reference will be returned.
• bookstores OR sellers: documents containing bookstores or sellers will be returned.

+
The operator + indicates that the query term must appear within the text of the documents that are listed in the result list. This operator is similar to the AND operator. Examples of search queries using the + operator are:

• +information +behaviour: documents containing both the word information and behaviour will be returned.
• +library +associations: documents containing both the word library and association will be returned.

-
The operator - indicates that the query term should not appear within the text of the documents that are listed in the result list. Examples of search queries using the - operator are:

• libraries -public: documents containing the term libraries but not containing the word public will be returned.
• libraries -associations: document containing the term libraries but not containing the word associations will be returned.

Wildcards
You can search for plurals or variations of words using a wildcard character. For most search engines, the character * is used to indicate a wildcard character(s) although some use the $ sign. Examples of search queries using wildcard characters:

• librar*: documents containing the term library, libraries, librarian, etc. will be returned. In fact, any word that begins with librar will be returned.
• filter*: document containing the term filter, filters, filtering, etc. will be returned.

Combinations
Operators may also be combined in a search query. Examples of search queries using a combination of operators:

• libraries OR "information science": documents containing the term libraries or the phrase information science will be returned. Note: This does not mean that both terms have to necessarily appear in the retrieved documents.
• internet AND (censorship OR filters): documents containing the term internet and the term censorship or filters will be returned.
• (libraries and school) -Rutgers: documents containing the term libraries and schools and not the term Rutgers will be returned.