Below you will find various ways to refine your searches. Although these are intended for use in Google, they will most likely work in other search engines and some databases as well.
This page is adapted from Google's "Better Searches, Better Results" handout. The original is available at the link below.
What it does: Searches for web pages that include two terms or phrases
What to type: Aruba AND vacation
What you'll get: Results with the word "Aruba" and the word "vacation"
What it does: Searches for web pages that include either word
What to type: vacation London OR Paris
What you'll get: Results with the word "vacation" and either "London" or "Paris"
What it does: Removes a term from a search
What to type: France NOT Paris
What you'll get: Results related to France, but not about Paris
*NOTE: The Boolean "NOT" does not work in a general Google Search. To exclude words or terms from our Google search you will want to use the "Advanced Search" function. It does work in most database searches, which is why we included it here.
What it does: Searches for an exact phrase or pairing of words
What to type: "New England"
What you'll get: Results with the phrase "New England"
What it does: Excludes search results with a particular word or phrase
What to type: bass -fishing
What you'll get: Results about bass that are not related to fishing
What it does: Searches for a word and all of its synonyms
What to type: ~mobile phone
What you'll get: Results with the word "phone," as well as "cell," "cellular," "wireless," etc...
What it does: Searches for web pages that include either word
What to type: vacation London OR Paris
What you'll get: Results with the word "vacation" and either "London" or "Paris"
What it does: Searches for a range of numbers
What to type: Frida Kahlo 1930...1940
What you'll get: Results about Frida Kahlo during this time period
What it does: Searches social media
What to type*: @twitter Boston
What you'll get: Twitter posts that include the word Boston
* This works for any social media site (Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest, Twitter, etc...)
What it does: Searches for a missing or unknown term
What to type: "Beauty and the *"
What you'll get: Results that start off "Beauty and the" and are followed by various terms, such as "Beauty and the Beast"
To cite this LibGuide use the following templates:
APA: Northern Essex Community College Library. (Date updated). Title of page. Title of LibGuide. URL
MLA: Northern Essex Community College Library. "Title of Page." Title of LibGuide, Date updated, URL.
