BOOLEAN OPERATORS (AND, OR, NOT)
COMBINING MULTIPLE OPERATORS
PARENTHESES
NESTING
TRUNCATION
VENN DIAGRAMS
Serious research often requires you to search professional databases. While they allow simple keyword searches such as the kind you use with search engines like Google, they also offer much richer resources for finding information, including field searches and Boolean operators.
A. BOOLEAN OPERATORS
The first thing to learn about is the Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT (and sometimes NEAR).
We will introduce Boolean operators briefly in class. Then you should learn more by visiting a number of websites.
- Begin at the following site and work through the 3-5 minute tutorial on Boolean operators:
http://lib.colostate.edu/tutorials/boolean_info.html
- Continue the same tutorial to the section entitled Advanced Boolean Tutorial (3-5 minutes) at
http://lib.colostate.edu/tutorials/booleanadv_info.html
- Carefully read the summary page at
http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/others/boolean.html
- Work through the four interactive demonstration searches at
http://writing.colostate.edu/demos/boolean/index.cfm
Note: There may be a temporary problem with these demos. If so, move to the next exercise below.
- Learn about parentheses, truncation and wild cards at
http://www.gv.psu.edu/foweb/lib/boolean_search/parenth.html
or truncation at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/library/libtp/instructions/Nursing/truncation.htm and wild cards at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/library/libtp/instructions/Nursing/wildcard.htm
- Learn how to combine Boolean operators, parentheses and truncation to solve difficult search problems at
http://www.askscott.com/examples.html
B. VENN DIAGRAMS
Venn diagrams go hand-in-hand with Boolean operators. In fact, they are just a visual representation of AND, OR & NOT.- See the connection between Boolean operators and Venn diagrams by going through the tutorial at
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/instruction/searching/searching09.html
A similar presentation is given at
http://www.gv.psu.edu/foweb/lib/boolean_search/and.html
- View the very helpful videos and images for Venn diagrams at
http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/Search07.htm#1
Similar illustrations are make Venn diagrams clear at
- Learn how to use more complex Venn diagrams at
http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/others/venn.html
- Check how well you're doing with this review, which includes test questions at
http://newterra.chemeketa.edu/library/instruction/tutorials/boolean/boolean.htm
- Test your knowledge of Venn diagrams at
http://www.engr.iupui.edu/%7Eorr/webpages/cpt120/venn/venn/toc.htm
NOTE: This site uses operators from mathematical set theory, but we can interpret them as follows: the symbol ∩ means AND, the symbol ∪ means OR, the symbol – means NOT.
Ignore Question #5 with the symbol Δ (if you're curious, it means the symmetric difference of two sets, that is, the set of elements which are in one of either set, but not in both).
