Search Modifiers Cheat Sheet

What are search modifiers?

They are commands that help make your database search more precise by refining and filtering your results.

Asterisk

Use it when you want your search results to capture plural forms,different tenses, or different endings of the words.

Example: Canad*
Will search for Canada, Canadian, Canadians, etc.

Quotation marks

Use it when you are searching for a specific phrase and want all thewords to appear in that specific order.

Example: “North America”

Parentheses

Use it with Boolean operators to help dictate the order of operation. Itis helpful when you want to use a variety of words, phrases, conceptsand techniques in one search.

Example: (Canad* OR “United States” OR America* OR USA) NOT Mexico