Constructing Your Search Request

It's important to realize that most search engines index every word of an Internet document. This increases the number of items you get when you do a search. It also means that many of the items will be irrelevant to your needs. Here are some general tips that will help you construct your search request.

Choosing Your Words

Keep it simple. Find 2-4 words that sum up your topic. For example, if you are interested in finding information on the experiences of people who survived the Titanic disaster, try using the words "Titanic" and "survivors".

Use unusual, technical, or scientific terms if applicable. For example, search the term gorilla gorilla beringei for information on the mountain gorilla.

Capitalize proper nouns. For example, look for information on the actor River Phoenix by using capital letters to avoid finding documents on rivers in the Phoenix area.

Put your most important word first. Word order makes a difference in some search engines.

Surround phrases with double quotation marks. In many search engines, you would enter the examples used above as "River Phoenix" or "gorilla gorilla beringei". Read the search tips for the search engine you are using to see if quotation marks are recommended.

Using Available Operators

"Operators" are words that tell the computer to perform specific operations or actions. They are used to help you further specify the information you need. Many search engines recognize these operators and, thankfully, use the same ones.

There are two main types of operators: boolean and proximity. Below are some of the most commonly used operators. Check with the search engine you are using to see which ones are supported.

Boolean Operators

Boolean operators determine what keywords or search terms should be included in the information you retrieve. Common boolean operators include And (+), Or, and Not (-) which are explained below.

• And or the Plus Sign (+)

Example: Cuba AND Russia or +Cuba +Russia Tells the computer that you want information that mentions both Cuba and Russia. If a document just mentions one but not the other, it will not show up in your results list. The "And" operator is frequently used to narrow or decrease your results. Most major search engines automatically search for documents that contain all the words you enter so the use of And or + is not always necessary. In most cases, you can just enter the two words separated by a space, for example, Cuba Russia.

• Or

Example: Cuba OR Russia Tells the computer that you will accept information that mentions either or both countries. If a document just mentions one of the two countries, it will be included in your results list. The "Or" operator is used to expand your results (remember, you get more with or). It is not used as frequently because often you want to decrease, not increase, your retrieval. Some search systems allow you to select an option to search "Any of the words" instead of using the Or operator.

• Not or the Minus sign (-)

Example: Cuba not Russia or Cuba -Russia Tells the computer that you want information that only mentions Cuba, but not any that mentions Russia. The "Not" (sometimes called "And Not") operator is used to exclude specific terms. It can also be helpful in cases where a word may have more than one meaning (e.g. "curling" may refer to hair styling or the sport of curling). Some search systems allow you to select an option to search "Without the words" instead of using the Not operator.

Proximity Operators

Proximity operators specify how close together two words or phrases should appear. The theory is that when the terms you want occur in close proximity to each other, the document is often more relevant to your needs. Proximity operators are only used in a few search engines.

• Near

Example: Cuba NEAR Russia Tells the computer that you want information that mentions the word Cuba within so many words of Russia. The "Near" (sometimes called ADJ for "adjacent") operator is set to search for the two words within ten words of each other in some search engines. Other search engines let you specify the distance between your terms, e.g. Cuba n/25 Russia tells the computer to retrieve any documents in which the word Cuba occurs within 25 words of the word Russia.