Boolean Operators
Boolean operators allow you create searches that combine keywords and search terms for more relevant search results.
- AND - narrows the search by searching for both terms
- Ex. snowfall AND Montana, returns results that contain snowfall and Montana
- OR - broadens the search by searching for either term
- Ex. Apsaalooke OR Crow, returns results that contain either the Apsaalooke or Crow
- NOT - narrows the search by excluding a term
- Ex. precipitation NOT rain, returns results that contain precipitation, but not rain
Searching Tips
Here are some general searching tips
- Use quotation marks "x" to search a phrase
- Use the wildcard symbol (usually an asterisk *) to search for alternate endings of words
- Ex. snow* will also search for snows, snowfall, etc
- Use parenthesis () to nest search terms and keywords
- Ex. (Apsaalooke OR Crow) AND "climate change" AND snow*
- You can combine Boolean searching with other searching tips (see above example)
- Complex searches can be as ineffective as searches that are too simple because it can narrow your results too much