Why spend hours searching when minutes
will do? Boolean logic allows
for effective and efficient research on the Internet, in databases, or
in libraries. All search engines, databases, portals, and directories
use a variation of Boolean Operators to narrow or broaden a search. Become
acquainted with Operators used in search engines or use the "advanced
search" they offer.
Boolean
Operators:
Click on the Boolean operators below
to view an image representing the operator.
Altavista:
One of the most powerful search engines for more experienced searchers.
.About.com:
An exceptional directory with "hand-picked" articles and sites
based on the judgement of "expert guides"
Magazines:
Ebsco Publishing database of thousands
of magazine articles on various subjects. A great resource for almost
any research topic. User ID: comoxvalley Password: schools
Yahooligans:
Yahoo's searchable directory for students
Google:
A powerful and fast search engine. The most relevant sites will be the first
ones on the return list (sites that have other sites linked to them)
Ask.com:
The power of this directory lies in using a simple search term and using
the categories that come up on the right of the screen
All
Experts: The most popular expert
site amoung CMS students. Send your inquiry and recieve a response within
days.
tells
the search engine to look for sites that have all of your terms in it.
Example:
Egypt AND ancient AND architecture / Egypt +ancient +architecture
Most search engines will treat spaces between words as AND
Overture:
This search engine has been receiving very good reviews
CLN:
The Community Learning Network's searchable directory of quality educational
Web sites.
tells
the search engine to find sites with one or the other or all of your terms.
Example: architecture OR art
OR painting
Mamma:
A metasearch engine that not only searches
seven other search engines, but searches magazine and newspaper articles.
AOL:
An educational Web Portal for students, teachers, and parents
"Phrase"
Tells the search engine
to only bring back sites that contain the phrase you are using. Phrase
marks bind the terms in order you place them. Example:
"Ancient Egypt" or "Great Barrier Reef"
MetaCrawler:
A metasearch
engine which searches several search engines at the same time
Maple
Square: A directory specializing in Canadian content.
Other
Courtenay Middle School Resources
for Research Projects:
Weaving
a Thought Cloth: This site is for teachers who wish to try a
different approach in their research projects.
Near
Tells the search engine
to only bring back sites that contain the terms within a certain number
of words from each other. Example:
"Ancient Egypt" NEAR mythology (Altavista
and Google)
*
An asterik is a wild card.
It tells the search engine to bring back sites that contain every term with
the root provided. Example: myth*
will bring back sites with myth, myths, mythic, mythology,...
tells
the search engine to look for sites that have all of your terms in it.
Example:
Egypt AND ancient AND architecture / Egypt +ancient +architecture
Most search engines will treat spaces between words as AND
tells
the search engine to find sites with one or the other or all of your terms.
Example: architecture OR art
OR painting 
Tells the search engine
eliminate sites with terms you do not want Example:
"Ancient Egypt" AND architecture AND NOT travel