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I'm having trouble searching in the archives. How can I refine my search?

There are a number of ways to refine your search results.

 

Keyword searching

  • Type in keyword(s), date, or name and hit the Search button
    • To narrow down results, use quotation marks around search terms

 

Strategic searching using Boolean search operators

To refine your search, try using Boolean search operators in the search bar.

What is Boolean searching?

Boolean searching is a search technique that combines search keywords with three Boolean operators - AND, OR, and NOT, along with certain symbols to retrieve more precise and relevant search results. 

  • Quotation marks (“ ”)
    • Use quotation marks around your search terms when searching for an exact phrase or sequence of words
      • Ex. “Dallas Cowboys”, “Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve”, “Brandenburg Elementary” will retrieve articles containing those exact phrases only
  • AND
    • AND searches tell the database that all search terms must be present in the results, thereby limiting results
    • Useful for connecting different concepts you’re looking into
    • Use the word AND to search for articles that contain both terms
      • Ex. Frito Lay AND history will only retrieve articles containing both terms
  • OR
    • OR searches tell the database that either search term can be present in the results, thereby expanding results
    • Good for searching concepts that are connected to each other and alternate ways of phrasing a concept
    • Use the word OR to search for articles that contain either term but do not have to include both/all terms
      • Ex. roller skating OR skateboarding would retrieve articles talking about both topics as well as articles on either roller skating or skateboarding
  • NOT
    • NOT searches tell the database to ignore certain words (particularly ones that may be implied by your search terms) to fine-tune results
    • Use the word NOT to exclude a particular term, typing the word NOT before the term you wish to exclude
      • Ex. cowboys NOT football would exclude results on the Dallas Cowboys football team as well as stories about cowboys in Dallas