Research Guides: Module 1: Beginning Your Research: Boolean Operators (2024)

FAQs

What is an example of a Boolean operator in research? ›

AND - narrows a search; Use to combine key concepts, for example: Water AND Pollution. OR - broadens a search; Use to add concepts, for example: Pollution OR Water. NOT - excludes search term(s). Use to eliminate a concept, for example: Water NOT Pollution.

The three basic boolean operators are: AND, OR, and NOT.

The Boolean search operators are and, or and not. You can use these operators to create a very broad or very narrow search. And combines search terms so that each search result contains all of the terms. For example, travel and Europe finds articles that contain both travel and Europe.

Boolean expressions are written using Boolean operators (AND) &&, (OR)|| and (NOT) !. Example: 1. (x>1) && (x<5) - returns true if both the conditions are true, i.e if the value of 'x' is between 1 and 5.

In simple words, Boolean logic refers to a form of algebra where the values of the variables are the truth values (also called Boolean values): "true" and "false," often denoted as 1 and 0 respectively.

The most popular Boolean commands are AND, OR, and NOT. Other commands include parentheses, truncation, and phrases.

The Boolean Operator OR broadens your search. Remember that in database searching, OR means MORE results. OR tells the database that you want results that mention one or both of your search terms.

Why do people use Boolean operators? ›

Boolean Operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT) used as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search, resulting in more focused and productive results.

Google no longer accepts the use of all Boolean modifiers and operators, so check this page to find out which ones you can use in Google! This guide on Boolean Searching by the Elmer F.

Use the Boolean Data Type (Visual Basic) to contain two-state values such as true/false, yes/no, or on/off. The default value of Boolean is False .

Boolean Search Symbols & Terms

Or: The OR keyword tells the search to look for instances with either of the phrases entered. For example, searching for candidates who have "Java" OR "HTML" in their profile. And: The AND keyword tells the search to look for instances with both phrases entered.

Examples: f(x,y,z)=xy+x'z is a 3-variable Boolean function. The function g(x,y,z,w)=(x+y+z')(x'+y'+w)+xyw' is also a Boolean function.