Click on on the name of a database or search interface
to find its Boolean operators and truncation symbols:

ABI/Inform Complete Academic Search Academic Universe Agricola Agris Biological Abstracts Business Source Premier CAB Abstracts Cambridge Scientific Ab. (CSA) Compendex CRIS Dissertation Abstracts EBSCO

Ei Village Engineering Index Environmental Engineering Abs. Env. Sci.& Poll. Management DB ERIC Expanded Academic ASAP FirstSearch Food Sci.& Technology Abs. (FSTA) InfoTrac LexisNexis Medline Online Library Catalog Ovid

ProQuest PubMed Social Science Citation Index Sociological Abstracts Statistical Universe UIUC Dissertations UIUC Online Library Catalog Wilson Select Plus Science Citation Index Web of Science WebSPIRS WorldCat Zoological Record

If you have any questions about the database your are using, try looking in its Help menu.
It will generally offer tips and examples for searching using their system of operators.

Search Interfaces & the Databases that Use Them Click on the link to go to the database.	Boolean Operators [in most cases, capitalization isn't required but is used below for clarity]	Truncation Symbols and Wildcards
Cambridge Sci. Abstr. (CSA) Environmental Engineering Abstracts Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management Database Sociological Abstracts Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition or corn | nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn NEAR nutrition Returns all records the contain "corn" within ten words of "nutrition" and in any order. corn WITHIN3 nutrition, corn WITHIN6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words apart and in any order. corn BEFORE nutrition Returns all records that contain the term "corn" before the term "nutrition." corn AFTER nutrition Returns all records that contain the term "corn" after the term "nutrition." dairy cows Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately. rabies AND (dogs OR cats) Returns all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "dogs" and all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "cats," as well as the records that contain all three terms.	daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils. nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. wom?n Replaces exactly one character. Returns woman, women, womyn. h*ophilia Replaces unlimited characters. Returns hemophilia, and haemophelia. fib?? Replaces exactly one character per question mark. Returns fibre and fiber.
CRIS (USDA's Current Research Information System) Back to Top	corn;nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. Assisted Search dairy goat;dairy sheep Returns all records with the term "dairy" within three words of the terms "goat" or ("goats") or "sheep" in the title and other text portions of the project record. The system performs automatic truncation or wildcarding for every word entered (of at least three characters) so plurals or words based on the stem you enter will be retrieved as well. Therefore, both "goat" and "goats" are searched.	Automatically truncates after first three letters of each term. nutrition Returns nuts, nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc.
EBSCO Academic Search Business Source Premier Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn N3 nutrition, corn N6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records the contain "corn" and "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words apart and in any order. corn W3 nutrition, corn W6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words after "corn." nutrition W3 corn, nutrition W6 corn, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" no more than the specified number of words after "nutrition." dairy cows Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately.	daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils. nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. wom?n Replaces exactly one character. Returns woman, women, womyn.
Ei Village Compendex (Engineering Index) Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." dairy cows, or {dairy cows}, or "dairy cows" if desired Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, followed by all records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately.	Automatic Autostemming: management Returns managing, managed, etc. Doesn't work for author or truncated terms or in quotations. In Expert Mode: $management Use dollar sign for autostemming. daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils. Cannot be used in quotation marks or braces. nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc.
FirstSearch Wilson Select Plus WorldCat Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn N3 nutrition, corn N6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words apart and in any order. corn N nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" with no words between them. corn W3 nutrition, corn W6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words after "corn." nutrition W3 corn, nutrition W6 corn, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" no more than the specified number of words after "nutrition." corn W nutrition Returns all records that contain "nutrition" right after "corn," with no words between them. nutrition W corn Returns all records that contain "corn" right after "nutrition," with no words between them. dairy cows Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "dairy" and "cows," but does not search specifically for "dairy cows" as a phrase. "dairy cows" Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately. rabies AND (dogs OR cats) Returns all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "dogs" and all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "cats," as well as the records that contain all three terms.	daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. Must be preceded by at least three characters. product+ Returns singular and plural form of regular nouns. Returns product or products, but not production. wom#n Replaces exactly one character. Returns woman, women, womyn. h*ophilia Replaces unlimited characters. Returns hemophilia, and haemophelia. child?3 Replaces up the number of characters specified. Returns child, child's, children.
InfoTrac Expanded Academic ASAP Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn N3 nutrition, corn N6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records the contain "corn" and "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words apart and in any order. corn W3 nutrition, corn W6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words after "corn." nutrition W3 corn, nutrition W6 corn, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" no more than the specified number of words after "nutrition." dairy cows Returns all records that contain "dairy" and all records that contain "cows," as well as all records that contain both terms. Does not search specifically for "dairy cows" as a phrase. "dairy cows" Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately. rabies AND (dogs OR cats) Returns all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "dogs" and all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "cats," as well as the records that contain all three terms.	daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils. nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. product! Replaces one or zero characters. Returns product or products, but not production. wom?n Replaces exactly one character. Returns woman, women, womyn. colo!r Replaces one or zero characters. Returns color, or colour. fib?? Replaces exactly one character per question mark. Returns fibre and fiber.
Lexis Nexis Academic Universe Statistical Universe Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn AND NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition AND NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn W/3 nutrition, corn W/6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words apart and in any order. corn NOT W/3 nutrition, corn NOT W/6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" but that do not contain "nutrition" within the specified number of words from "corn." corn PRE/3 nutrition, corn PRE/6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words after "corn." nutrition PRE/3 corn, nutrition PRE/6 corn, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" no more than the specified number of words after "nutrition." corn W/S nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" in the same sentence. corn W/P nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" in the same paragraph. dairy cows Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, followed by all records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately. rabies AND (dogs OR cats) Returns all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "dogs" and all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "cats," as well as the records that contain all three terms.	Automatically searches regular plural and possessive forms of terms. nutri! Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. wom*n Replaces exactly one character. Returns woman, women, womyn. Cannot replace first character. fib** Replaces exactly one character per asterisk. Returns fibre and fiber.
Ovid ERIC Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn ADJ nutrition, corn ADJ5 nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words apart and in any order. dairy cows Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately.	daffodil$ Returns daffodil and daffodils. daffodil: Returns daffodil and daffodils. nutri$ Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. nutri: Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. child$3 Replaces up the number of characters specified. Returns child, child's, children. product? Replaces one or zero characters Returns product or products, but not production. wom#n Replaces exactly one character. Returns woman, women, womyn. Must be preceded by at least two characters. colo?r Replaces one or zero characters Returns color, or colour. Must be preceded by at least two characters.
ProQuest ABI/Inform Complete Dissertation Abstracts UIUC Dissertations (Current Research) Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn AND NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition AND NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn W/3 nutrition, corn W/6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words apart and in any order. corn NOT W/3 nutrition, corn NOT W/6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" but that do not contain "nutrition" within the specified number of words from "corn." corn PRE/3 nutrition, corn PRE/6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records that contain "nutrition" exactly the specified number of words after "corn." nutrition PRE/3 corn, nutrition PRE/6 corn, etc. Returns all records that contain "corn" no more than the specified number of words after "nutrition." dairy cows - for two-term searches Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately. mad cow disease - for searches with three or more terms Returns all records that contain "mad," all records that contain "cow," and all records that contain "disease," as well as all records that contain a combination of these terms. Does not search specifically for "dairy cows" as a phrase. "mad cow disease " - for searches with three or more terms Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately.	daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. wom?n Replaces exactly one character. Returns woman, women, womyn. Cannot replace first character.
Pubmed (Medline) Back to Top	Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) MUST be in caps for this database. corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." dairy cows Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "dairy" and "cows," but does not search specifically for "dairy cows" as a phrase. "dairy cows" Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately. rabies AND (dogs OR cats) Returns all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "dogs" and all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "cats," as well as the records that contain all three terms.	daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc.
UIUC Online Library Catalog Back to Top	Simple search, Boolean search mode: corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." dairy cows Returns all records that contain "dairy" and all records that contain "cows," as well as all records that contain both terms. Does not search specifically for "dairy cows" as a phrase. "dairy cows" Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately.	daffodil? Returns daffodil and daffodils nutri? Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. Must be preceded by at least three characters.
Web of Science (Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index) Biological Abstracts CAB Abstracts Food Science & Technology Abstracts Zoological Record Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn SAME nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" in the same subfield, i.e., both in the title, both in the same keyword phrase, or both in the same sentence of the abstract. dairy cows Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately. rabies AND (dogs OR cats) Returns all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "dogs" and all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "cats," as well as the records that contain all three terms.	daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. Must be preceded by at least three characters. product$ Replaces one or zero characters Returns product or products, but not production. wom?n Replaces exactly one character. Returns woman, women, womyn. Cannot replace the first character. colo$r Replaces one or zero characters Returns color, or colour. Cannot replace the first character.
WebSPIRS Agricola Agris Back to Top	corn AND nutrition Returns all records that contain BOTH of the terms "corn" and "nutrition." corn OR nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and all records that contain "nutrition," as well as all records that contain both terms. corn NOT nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and do not contain "nutrition." nutrition NOT corn Returns all records that contain "nutrition" and do not contain "corn." corn ADJ nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" BEFORE "nutrition" with no words between them. nutrition ADJ corn Returns all records that contain "nutrtion" BEFORE "corn" with no words between them. corn NEAR nutrtion Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" in the same sentence. corn NEAR3 nutrition, corn NEAR6 nutrition, etc. Returns all records the contain "corn" and "nutrition" no more than the specified number of words apart and in any order. corn WITH nutrition Returns all records that contain "corn" and "nutrition" in the same field, e.g. both in title or both in keyword, etc. dairy cows Returns all records that contain "dairy cows" as a phrase, but not records that contain "dairy" and "cows" separately. rabies AND (dogs OR cats) Returns all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "dogs" and all records that contain both the terms "rabies" and "cats," as well as the records that contain all three terms.	daffodil* Returns daffodil and daffodils nutri* Returns nutrition, nutritional, nutrients, nutria, Nutrisweet, etc. product? Replaces one or zero characters Returns product or products, but not production. colo?r Replaces one or zero characters Returns color, or colour. Cannot replace the first character.

created by M. Stillwell, 2/2004