How Library Stuff Works: Boolean Modifiers "", *, ( )
Summary
TLDRPart II of McMaster Libraries' Boolean Searching Series teaches advanced search techniques using Boolean Modifiers. Quotations ensure exact phrase matches, narrowing results. The asterisk allows for word variations, expanding search scope. Brackets, like in algebra, dictate search order, ensuring accurate query interpretation. These tools refine searches, guiding users to precise information. For further assistance, librarians are available for one-on-one consultations.
Takeaways
- 🔍 Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) are fundamental for effective searches, but additional modifiers are needed for precise results.
- 📝 Quotation marks instruct the search engine to find documents containing the exact phrase enclosed within them.
- 🔑 Using quotes helps in narrowing down search results by ensuring the search engine looks for the specific multi-word concept.
- 🌟 The asterisk acts as a truncation symbol, allowing the search engine to retrieve documents with various word endings starting with a common root.
- 🔄 Truncating a word with an asterisk broadens the search to include different forms of the word, enhancing the retrieval of relevant documents.
- 🗄 Brackets, or parentheses, are crucial for setting the order of operations in a search query, ensuring the search engine interprets the query as intended.
- 🧮 Brackets help in grouping terms and Boolean Operators, directing the search engine to apply the right operators to the correct terms first.
- ❌ Including brackets prevents misinterpretation by the search engine, which could lead to incorrect or unexpected search results.
- 📚 The McMaster Libraries Boolean Cheat Sheet is a valuable resource for guidance on using Boolean search techniques effectively.
- 💬 Librarians are available for assistance, either in-person or through research consultations, to help refine search strategies and understand Boolean searching.
Q & A
What are the three Boolean operators mentioned in the McMaster Libraries Boolean Searching Series?
-The three Boolean operators mentioned are AND, OR, and NOT.
How do quotation marks function in a search query?
-Quotation marks are used to direct the search engine to find articles that contain the exact phrase as it is enclosed within the quotations.
What is the purpose of using asterisks in a search?
-Asterisks are used to account for different variations of a word by truncating the word after the last shared letter and adding an asterisk, which tells the database to include all variations of the word that start with the given letters.
Why are brackets important in a search query?
-Brackets, or parentheses, are crucial for directing the database to apply specific Boolean operators first, just like in algebra where operations within brackets are performed before others.
What is the role of the Boolean modifier NOT in a search?
-The NOT operator is used to exclude documents containing a specific term from the search results.
Can you provide an example of how to use quotation marks in a search query from the transcript?
-An example from the transcript is using 'dementia therapy' in quotes to retrieve articles that contain the exact phrase 'dementia therapy'.
How does the asterisk help in broadening the search results?
-The asterisk allows the search engine to include all variations of a word starting with a specific set of letters, thus broadening the search to include terms like 'therapy', 'therapies', and 'therapeutic'.
What does the acronym BEDMAS stand for and how is it related to search queries?
-BEDMAS stands for Brackets, Exponents, Division/Multiplication, Addition/Subtraction, and it is related to search queries as it dictates the order of operations, emphasizing that operations within brackets should be performed first.
Why might search results be wonky without the use of brackets?
-Without brackets, the search engine might interpret the search differently from the user's intent, leading to incorrect or unexpected results due to the misapplication of Boolean operators.
What resource is recommended for further clarification on Boolean searching?
-The McMaster Libraries Boolean Cheat Sheet is recommended for further clarification or as a refresher on Boolean searching techniques.
How can users get assistance with their research queries at McMaster Libraries?
-Users can visit the libraries on campus or book a research consultation for one-on-one assistance with their research queries.
Outlines
🔍 Boolean Modifiers in Search Engines
This paragraph introduces the use of Boolean modifiers to enhance search queries. It explains that using quotation marks can direct the search engine to find exact phrases, thereby narrowing down results. The asterisk is highlighted as a tool for including various forms of a word, which broadens the search to include different word endings. Lastly, the importance of brackets (parentheses) is emphasized for organizing the order of Boolean operations, ensuring the search engine interprets the query as intended. The McMaster Libraries' Boolean Cheat Sheet is recommended for further guidance, and librarians are offered as a resource for assistance.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Boolean Operators
💡Quotations
💡Asterisk
💡Brackets
💡Boolean Modifiers
💡Search Engine
💡Database
💡Search Results
💡BEDMAS
💡Boolean Cheat Sheet
Highlights
Boolean Modifiers like quotations, asterisk, and brackets are essential for precise searching.
Quotations ensure the search engine finds articles with the exact phrase enclosed.
Using 'dementia therapy' in quotes narrows results to articles containing that exact phrase.
Quotations are useful for packaging multi-word concepts together in searches.
The asterisk allows for searching multiple variations of a word.
Truncating a word after the last shared letter and adding an asterisk broadens search results.
Brackets, or parentheses, direct the search engine to apply Boolean Operators in a specific order.
Brackets ensure the search engine interprets the search as intended by the user.
Including brackets can prevent misinterpretation by the search engine.
Consulting the McMaster Libraries Boolean Cheat Sheet can provide further clarification on search techniques.
Librarians at McMaster Libraries are available for one-on-one research consultation.
Boolean Operators AND, OR, NOT are foundational but require correct formatting for effective use.
Search engines may struggle to understand queries without proper use of Boolean Modifiers.
The asterisk can be used to account for different word endings, such as 'therapy', 'therapies', 'therapeutic'.
Brackets help in grouping terms and operators to ensure the search engine processes them correctly.
Without brackets, the search engine might apply operators in an unintended order, leading to inaccurate results.
Transcripts
Welcome to Part II of McMaster Libraries
Boolean Searching Series.
In Part I we established that the Boolean Operators
AND OR NOT, are effective search tools
This is a great starting point but if we
don't format our searches correctly,
the search engine may still have a difficult
time understanding what we are asking it to do.
By using the Boolean Modifiers
quotations, asterisk and brackets,
we can ensure that we are directing the
search engine to find exactly what we are looking for.
First let's talk about quotations.
If a phrase is put within quotation marks
the database knows that it must find
articles that contain the quoted phrase
exactly as contained within the quotations.
So if we use the same example from Part 1 of this series
where we were looking for information on
cats and dementia therapy,
putting dementia therapy in quotes
tells the database to only retrieve articles that contain
the phrase dementia therapy.
Quotes can be useful in narrowing search results.
They allow us to package concepts that are
more than one word together, instead of
searching each word of the phrase
independent of the others.
The asterisk is another important tool used in searching.
The asterisk is a way in which we can
take into consideration the many
different ways we can express a word.
So instead of having to tell the database
to search for documents containing the
words therapy OR therapies OR therapeutic,
we can simply truncate the word
after the last shared letter, in this case p,
and add an asterisk.
This tells the database that as long as the word begins
with t-h-e-r-a-p it doesn't matter what the
rest of the world looks like.
So if you are searching for a word that
has many different variations, think of
all the variations of the word, truncate
the word after the last shared letter and
add an asterisk. This will ensure that the
database knows you want all the
variations of the word possible and
broaden the set of relevant results retrieved.
Brackets, also known as parentheses,
are super important to include when searching.
Remember back in high school algebra
when you learned about BEDMAS?
The rules of BEDMAS tell
us to perform the operations within
brackets before anything else.
Search engines work the same way.
Brackets are a way to direct the database as to
which Boolean Operators to apply first.
Say I enter in a search like this:
The search engine will probably read my search from
left-to-right applying the operators in
a different order than I intended.
By adding brackets, we were able to tell the
database exactly what terms and Boolean
Operators belong together.
So with brackets, my search should look a
little something like this:
By including these brackets I'm able to
communicate to the database that I
want to retrieve documents that
contain some variation of the word cat
but NOT p-cat AND these documents must
also contains some variation of the word therapy or treatment.
Without brackets, we
can't be sure the search engine has
interpreted our search the same way that we do,
which could lead us to some wonky results.
In summary, quotation marks are a
way in which we can tell the search
engine to retrieve exact phrases.
Asterisk are a way in which we can tell the search
engine to retrieve multiple variations
of a word. And lastly brackets are a way in
which we can communicate to the database
which terms and operators belong together.
Remember to consult McMaster Libraries
Boolean Cheat Sheet if you need any further
clarification or just a simple refresher.
If you have any questions, librarians are here to help!
Visit us in any of our libraries on campus,
or book a research consultation for one-on-one assistance.
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