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1. Boolean Basics
By Amanda Hovious, MLIS

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Directions
Navigation buttons
Main menu and multiple choice buttons
Help button
Press Esc to exit program at any time
Plug-in required: Adobe Shockwave Player

3. Boolean Basics
Introduction
Using AND
Using OR
Combining AND & OR
Using NOT
Boolean Operators in Action Demo!

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Introduction
When you are searching for articles in a
database, using Boolean Operators between
search terms will improve your results.
The three basic Boolean operators are AND, OR
& NOT. Click on the right arrow to start the
tutorial.

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Definition of Database
A collection of information organized in such a
way that a computer program can quickly select
desired pieces of data. You can think of a
database as an electronic filing system.

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Using AND
peanut
jelly
butter
peanut butter AND jelly
AND narrows your search - your search
results fall where the two circles intersect.

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Using AND
AND means that ALL terms must be included.
What has fur AND flies?
COW
BAT
ROOSTER

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Using AND
AND means that ALL terms must be included.
What has fur and flies?
COW
No! Cows have fur, but do not
fly. Try again.
BAT
ROOSTER

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Using AND
AND means that ALL terms must be included.
What has fur and flies?
COW
Yes! Bats have fur
BAT AND fly.
ROOSTER

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Using AND
AND means that ALL terms must be included.
What has fur and flies?
COW
BAT
No! Roosters can fly
ROOSTER but they don’t have
fur. Try again.

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Using OR
strawberry
grape jelly
jelly
strawberry jelly OR grape jelly
OR brings more! – your search results include
anything that falls into EITHER circle.

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Using OR
OR means that ANY term can be included. OR is
typically used to find similar or related terms.
What has fur OR flies?
COW, BAT, ROOSTER
COW, BAT
ROOSTER

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Using OR
OR means that ANY term can be included. OR is
typically used to find similar or related terms.
What has fur OR flies?
COW, BAT, ROOSTER Yes! Cows, bats, and
roosters EITHER have
COW, BAT fur OR they fly. Notice
how OR includes more.
ROOSTER

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Using OR
OR means that ANY term can be included. OR is
typically used to find similar or related terms.
What has fur OR flies?
COW, BAT, ROOSTER
COW, BAT No! Cows and bats have fur, but
you are looking for things that
ROOSTER have fur OR fly. Try again.

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Using OR
OR means that ANY term can be included. OR is
typically used to find similar or related terms.
What has fur OR flies?
COW, BAT, ROOSTER
No! Roosters can fly, but
COW, BAT you are looking for things
that EITHER have fur OR
ROOSTER fly. Try again.

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Combining AND & OR
Boolean Search Rule: Always
use parentheses around your
OR operators when combining
AND & OR.
peanut
butter
strawberry
grape jelly
jelly
peanut butter AND (grape jelly OR strawberry jelly)
Your search results appear where all three circles intersect, as well as
where strawberry jelly intersects with peanut butter and where grape
jelly intersects with peanut butter.

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Combining AND & OR
Combining AND & OR operators helps broaden your
search when AND alone returns too few results.
What has (fur OR feathers) AND flies?
COW, ROOSTER
COW, BAT
BAT, ROOSTER

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Combining AND & OR
Combining AND & OR operators helps broaden your
search when AND alone returns too few results.
What has (fur OR feathers) AND flies?
COW, ROOSTER
No! Cows have fur AND roosters
COW, BAT have feathers, but you are
looking for things that can ALSO
BAT, ROOSTER fly. Try again.

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Combining AND & OR
Combining AND & OR operators helps broaden your
search when AND alone returns too few results.
What has (fur OR feathers) AND flies?
COW, ROOSTER
No! Cows and bats have fur, but
COW, BAT you are looking for things that
can ALSO fly. Try again.
BAT, ROOSTER

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Menu
Combining AND & OR
Combining AND & OR operators helps broaden your
search when AND alone returns too few results.
What has (fur OR feathers) AND flies?
COW, ROOSTER
Yes! Bats and roosters have
COW, BAT either (fur OR feathers)
AND they can BOTH fly.
BAT, ROOSTER

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Using NOT
strawberry
grape jelly
jelly
Strawberry jelly NOT grape jelly
Search results include all of the strawberry jelly circle that does
NOT INCLUDE grape jelly.

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Using NOT
Using NOT will exclude terms that you do not want
appearing in your search results.
What has fur NOT feathers?
COW, ROOSTER
COW, BAT
BAT, ROOSTER

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Using NOT
Using NOT will exclude terms that you do not want
appearing in your search results.
What has fur NOT feathers?
COW, ROOSTER No! Roosters have feathers. You
are looking for things without
COW, BAT feathers. Try again.
BAT, ROOSTER

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Using NOT
Using NOT will exclude terms that you do not want
appearing in your search results.
What has fur NOT feathers?
COW, ROOSTER
Yes! Cows and bats have
COW, BAT
fur NOT feathers.
BAT, ROOSTER