Search modifiers are used to improve the effectiveness of database searches.
Precision refers to the relevancy of search results. Recall refers to the range of results. There are situations when either one is important.
Proximity modifiers:
- “quotation marks” around keywords tell the database or search engine to search for those words together in that exact order.
- N# tells the database how close together you want your keywords to be. Use this modifier when you are not looking for an exact phrase, but still want your keywords in the same sentence. Google uses the modifier AROUND(#) to do the same thing.
WIldcard modifiers:
- The asterisk (*) modifier can be used to replace whole words or multiple letters within a word.
- The question mark symbol (?) can be used to replace exactly one letter within a word – useful for making sure your search uses both variants of a word that is spelt differently in British English and American English.
- The hash (#) modifier can be used to replace one optional letter – it can stand in for a letter or the absence of a letter, used commonly where there is a different spelling of the word.
Boolean operators – order of operations:
- Brackets ()
- NOT
- AND
- OR
Adapted from University of Tasmania Library learning materials. Photo by Guzel Maksutova on Unsplash