LibGuides: Search Techniques: Combining search terms (2024)

Search Processing Order

LibGuides: Search Techniques: Combining search terms (1)

Databases usually process the Boolean operators in a logical order.

They typically recognise AND as the primary operator and will connect concepts with AND together first.

If you use a combination of AND and OR operators in one search, use parentheses (brackets) to groupthe OR words together so that your search is processed correctly.

For example:

If you wantto find information on cloning humans and cloning sheep, use the following instruction:

cloning AND (sheep OR human) - This will search for cloning AND sheep as well ascloning AND human

If you donot use the parentheses and searchusing the following:

cloning ANDsheep ORhuman,your search will be processed as:

  • cloning AND sheep as one search
  • OR human as a secondary search - This means that your search results containing human would not be linked in any way to cloning.

Many databases offer the functionality to separate out your search terms, and this saves you having to add the parentheses. Sometimes you will have to access the Advanced Search for these options.

In this example from the Web of Science database, you can use the Basic search form to add multiple search lines by clicking on Add Another Field.

LibGuides: Search Techniques: Combining search terms (2)

LibGuides: Search Techniques: Combining search terms (2024)

FAQs

LibGuides: Search Techniques: Combining search terms? ›

How to combine search terms: Using AND, OR and NOT. The three most commonly used operators are AND, OR, NOT. These are known as Boolean operators. They can be used to broaden or narrow a search and to exclude unwanted search terms and concepts.

How do you keep words together in search? ›

Combine your keywords with AND to make sure that they all appear in your search results. For example, searching for 'fake news AND media' will make sure your results contain both of these words. The more keywords you add with AND, the narrower your search will be, and the fewer results you will get.

How do you combine words into a phrase so that Google searches for them together? ›

Phrase Searches
  1. By enclosing the phrase in quotation marks. Google will return only documents that includes the exact phrase you entered.
  2. By using phrase connectors—such as hyphens, slashes, periods, equal signs, and apostrophes—in between every word of your search query.

How do you search for multiple words in search? ›

Searching for multiple keywords

You can search for multiple keywords by connecting them with AND, OR, or AND NOT (known as Boolean operators). Narrows a search by requiring that both keywords are found. A search for guggenheim AND bilbao would find both "Museo Guggenheim Bilbao" and "Guggenheim Museum Bilbao."

What is the most effective way to group my search terms? ›

Grouping keywords by theme is an effective strategy for search query grouping. By organizing related keywords into distinct groups, you can optimize your ad campaigns and improve relevance. Here's how to do it: Identify common themes or categories within your keyword list.

What are the combining search techniques? ›

How to combine search terms: Using AND, OR and NOT. The three most commonly used operators are AND, OR, NOT. These are known as Boolean operators. They can be used to broaden or narrow a search and to exclude unwanted search terms and concepts.

How to combine keyword to search? ›

A combined search means that you search for your keywords, and also for your subject headings for each concept of your search strategy. Then combine the keyword and subject heading searches with OR. Finally, combine the resulting search results for each concept with AND.

How can you search for multiple ends of a search term? ›

Truncation is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings. To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end. The database will return results that include any ending of that root word.

How to search to include all words? ›

Use Advanced Search query fields

In Advanced Search, you can choose words or phrases to include or remove from your results. You can choose: “All these words”: Results use all the words you enter. “This exact word or phrase”: Results include one exact word or phrase you enter.

How to control find two words? ›

Yes, most tools will allow you to use multiple words when searching with Ctrl+F so that you can more easily find what you are looking for amongst a long list of documents or web pages.

How do you use search terms most effectively? ›

Be concise. Begin with only 2-3 essential terms, and avoid long phrases. The more terms you enter the fewer results you'll get. (For example, a search for environmental consequences of fracking may yield 0 results, while fracking environment yields over 2,000.)

How do I lock words together in word? ›

Keep text together
  1. Click where you want to insert the nonbreaking space.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Symbols group, click Symbol.
  3. In the box that opens, click More Symbols.
  4. In the Symbol dialog box, on the Special Characters tab, click the Nonbreaking Space row to highlight it, and then click Insert.
  5. Click Close.

How do you search for words close together? ›

Common proximity operators include NEAR or ~, which searches for words within a certain number of words from each other regardless of order; ADJ or AROUND, which searches for words next to each other in the same order; W/n or Nn, which searches for words within a certain number of words from each other in the same ...

How do I make two words stay together in word? ›

Non-Breaking Hyphens. A non-breaking hyphen is similar to a non-breaking space, but it's used to keep two words together that are split by a hyphen. You can insert a non-breaking hyphen by holding down the Ctrl key, the Shift key, and the Hyphen key on your keyboard.

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