Using Boolean Operators:

When searching Omni (the Library catalogue) the following Boolean Operators can help narrow, or broaden, a search for your topic:

AND - retrieves results that have all the specified terms. So, for example, a search for apples AND oranges will only retrieve results that have apples and oranges in the results. It is a useful way to narrow your search.

OR - retrieves results with at least one of the search terms. So a search for Cape Verde OR Cabo Verde will retrieve results that include either the terms Cape Verde or the terms Cabo Verde or both. It is a useful way to search for related terms or synonyms.

NOT – excludes any search results that includes the specified term. It is most useful to use NOT when trying to eliminate irrelevant results. For example, if you’re pulling up a lot of book reviews when looking for articles about the Game of Thrones, you might search for Game of Thrones NOT book review.

To broaden a search, enter an asterisk * at the end of a word  to perform a multiple character wildcard search (up to five characters). For example: educat* retrieves the words educate, educator, education, etc.

You can often get better results if you search for a phrase by typing quotation marks "" around the phrase. You can also combine both words and phrases in your search. For example: "African Americans" AND psychology. Note: If you do not enclose the phrase with quotation marks, the Library catalogue will find items that contain the individual words in the phrase, regardless of whether these words are located next to each other in the order specified.

Note:

• For more information on Boolean Operators check out  our interactive modules that introduce Boolean logic and searching.
• You can find information about searching techniques including the use of Boolean Operators on the Search Omni guide.