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Search Tips

This helpful guide, adopted with permission from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, highlights common search techniques.

What to Look for

Root words that have multiple endings. Example: sun = suns, sunshine, sunny, sunlight
Words that are spelled differently, but mean the same thing. Example: color, colour
Truncation/wildcard symbols vary by database. Check the help option to find out which symbols are used.

About Truncation and Wildcards

Truncation:

Truncation, also called stemming, is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings.

To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end.
The database will return results that include any ending of that root word.
Examples: child* = child, childs, children, childrens, childhood | genetic* = genetic, genetics, genetically
Truncation symbols may vary by database; common symbols include: *, !, ?, or #

Wildcards:

Similar to truncation, wildcards substitute a symbol for one letter of a word.

This is useful if a word is spelled in different ways, but still has the same meaning.
Examples:
wom!n = woman, women
colo?r = color, colour

If you have any questions regarding truncation or wildcards, please contact Ask a Librarian.