Search tips for an effective search
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Use Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT (in capitals) to combine search terms within any search box
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AND relationship between search terms is default: civil war finds content containing civil AND war
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Enclose a phrase within quotation marks for an exact match: "civil war" finds content containing that exact phrase
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To find all records in a field, enter a*
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Use parentheses to group terms and Boolean operators: care AND (cat OR dog) finds content containing care and containing either cat or dog; care AND cat OR dog (no parentheses) finds content containing both care and cat, or containing dog
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Use AND, OR or NOT selector in additional search boxes to combine searches across multiple fields
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Use a question mark (?) wildcard to represent one character: ta?k finds content containing talk, task, tank…
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Use an asterisk (*) wildcard to represent zero or more characters: *travel* finds content containing travel, travels, travelling...
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Wildcards do not work at the start of a search term; wildcards do not work within quotation marks
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Use Match Any, Match All, Match None selectors to include and exclude other available search parameters with your search terms
For further information please refer to the Advanced Search article or the Advanced Search Guide.
Still Need Help?
If you have further questions on how to select databases, please reach out to support.informit@rmit.edu.au.