Boolean search method6/16/2023 ![]() ![]() The computer again goes through its database, pulls out every record that mentions sports and every record that mention athletics. Referring back to our example about the dietary needs of athletes, we might want to be sure and catch every mention of both sports and athletics, since they are closely related concepts. It requires the computer to search its database for every record that mentions at least one of your search terms. The "or" operator works very differently. This is a way of being very specific in your search. If only one word appears in the record, we won't see it. What it will give us in our results list is every record in which BOTH words appear (i.e. The computer will then pull from its database every record that mentions the word sports (left circle in the diagram below) and every record that mentions the word nutrition (right circle). We might type the following search into the database: Once you've mastered the principles of boolean searching you'll be able to use them in a variety of different circumstances.Ĭombining your search terms with the "and" operator requires the computer to search its database for every record (article, book, etc.) that contains all the words in your search.įor example, let's says we're doing research on the effects of diet on athletes. It's a search method that is supported by Summon, the library's research databases and Internet search engines like Google. It is a very powerful and efficient way of searching. The operator(s) you choose to combine your terms determines how the computer searches its database for those terms and what it presents to you in your results list. It involves combining your search terms (keywords or phrases) using three "operators": Boolean Searching is a technique for searching for information in a computer database.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |