Boolean Operators

  • The Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are only used in keyword searches.
  • The connectors AND and NOT generally limit your search (decreases the number of hits); and the connector OR expands it (increases the number of hits).
  • If you are retrieving too many records on your topic, try adding another search term with the connector AND.
  • If you are retrieving too many records on an unrelated topic, try eliminating a word with the connector NOT.
  • If you are retrieving too few records on your topic, try adding another search term with the connector OR.
  • Boolean operators should be used in English when undertaking an Arabic search for keywords.