The World Wide Web offers many tools that enable you to search for useful content. Your success at using these tools will depend not only on the selection of a particular tool, but also how you use it.
When searching the Web, the keywords and phrases that you use are among the most important factors affecting the search results. You can also use logical operators and symbols to further refine your search results.
Typically, search engines allow you to enter keywords and phrases as you will create a search query using one or more keywords and phrases.
Here then are a few simple steps that you can take to increase the chances of your success:
Regardless of the search tool you use, the keywords you enter into the search query box will influence the success of your search. Most searches are constructed using operators that are described in detail below.
You can further refine your searches by using "logical operators". Logical operators give additional instructions to the search engine and further refine your search. Some search engines also allow other symbols to further refine search results. Both these techniques are explained below.
Logical operators are sometimes referred to as "Boolean operators". Those of you who have studied algebraic logic will recall that Boolean operators consist of words like "AND", "OR", and "NOT" and are used to determine whether or not a statement is true or false.
The use of Boolean operators in databases and search engines is virtually a standard now. Almost every search engine will allow you to refine your searches using at least the three common Boolean operators given above. In such search engines, adding "AND" between words will ensure that both words are present in the final result. Using "AND NOT" between two words will ensure that the first word is present and the second is not. When no Boolean operators are present, most search engines will assume that "OR" has been used and the results will contain any or all of the words in the query.
| Query Entered | Results will Contain |
| dogs cats hamsters | Dogs, cats, hamsters, and combinations of one or more of these words. |
| dogs AND cats hamsters | Both dogs and cats, either with or without hamsters |
| dogs AND cats AND NOT hamsters | Both dogs and cats, leaving out result that contain hamsters |
| (dogs NOT cats) hamsters | Pages must contain "dogs" and must not contain "cats". Pages containing "hamsters" are more important. |
Note that search engines will usually recognize Boolean operators only if they are CAPITALIZED as shown in the examples above. Search engines also often contain useful help pages that give further details on the use of Boolean operators.
Boolean or logical operators are supported by almost all search engines. There are also some other operators that can make life even easier for you. Not all engines support these operators however; therefore, before using a specific operator, it may be a good idea to read the Help Section of the particular search engine. Here are a few examples of some useful special operators:
You must capitalize keywords such as AND, NOT, and OR. If you do not, many search engines will assume that you are also trying to search for these words and will not apply any Boolean Logic.