If you want to narrow or broaden your search, you may want to find out if truncation and proximity operators are available in the database you are using. Look in the help screens to find out about these useful operators. This Web page has the truncation and proximity operators for selected databases. They are listed by vendor name or database name.
Truncation is a mechanism for searching multiple terms that begin with a desired prefix. For example, "build" with a truncation symbol will search for build, building, buildings, builder, etc. The symbol varies from database to database. The truncations symbol is frequently an asterisk (*), dollar sign ($), or plus sign (+). In some databases, truncation is used to search for the root word only. Read the help screens in the database for exact details.
Proximity operators are a way to ensure that search terms appear next to one another, within a certain number of words, or appear in the same sentence, paragraph, or field (part of a record; for example, title or abstract). "With" and "near" may have different meanings, depending on the database, so always read the help screens for details. In the descriptions below "#" may stand for any number. Some of the vendors/databases listed above do not support proximity operators, so they are not included in the chart below.
Truncation is a mechanism for searching multiple terms that begin with a desired prefix. For example, "build" with a truncation symbol will search for build, building, buildings, builder, etc. The symbol varies from database to database. The truncations symbol is frequently an asterisk (*), dollar sign ($), or plus sign (+). In some databases, truncation is used to search for the root word only. Read the help screens in the database for exact details.
| Software/ Vendor/ Database | truncation symbol | example | finds (what is retrieved) |
|
EBSCO (Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, Agricola, PsycINFO, CAB Abstracts, etc.) |
*
? replaces that number of character(s) |
comput*
ne?t |
computer, computing, computation, etc. neat, nest, next (will not find "net") |
| OCLC/FirstSearch® (WorldCat) |
+ plurals with added s or es only * only after third character # one character ? zero to nine characters |
success+ instruction* wom#n colo?r |
success, successes instruction, instructions, instructional women, woman color, colour, colonizer, colorimeter |
| ISI® Web of Science® |
* zero or more characters
? can replace exactly one character
$ one or no character |
pharmac sul*ur
ch?mi*
enrol$ment |
pharmacy, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical sulphur, sulfer
|
| JSTOR |
& searches singular and plural forms of English words (only)
? zero or one character in a word. Use multiple ? for more than one letter--only will replace up to the number of ? |
cat& fox& shelf&
bird??? |
cat & cats fox & foxes shelf & shelves
bird, birding, birdman, birds |
| Project MUSE | * zero or more characters, at end of words only | modern* | modern, modernity, modernism, etc. |
|
Alexander Street Press (Full text: primary sources including diaries, letters, drama, poetry, film scripts, etc. Also biographies) |
. any single character * any string of characters (beginning, middle, or end of a word) .? matches characters entered plus one more character [a-z] matches a single character in the specified range # matches capitalized words only (does not work with OR operator : | [pipe]) CAPITAL LETTER matches all accented and non-accented forms of it |
gentlem.n cigar* hono.?r
naIvetE |
gentleman, gentlemen cigar, cigars, cigarette, etc. honor, honour
|
| Readex (American State Papers, Serial Set, Early American Imprints) |
? single character * multiple characters |
wom?n environment*
Pen*lvania |
women, woman environment, environments, environmental, environmentalist, etc. Pennsylvania, Pensilvania |
| Science Direct |
! replaces any number of letters following a root word * replaces characters anywhere in a word, except the first character; at end of word include as many * as want found |
behav!
transplant**
Bernst**n |
behave, behaviour, behavioural, etc. women, woman transplant, transplanted, transplanter (but not transplantation or transplanting)
|
| ProQuest (New York Times, Ethnic Newswatch, Wall Street Journal) |
* multiple characters ? any single character |
econom* wom?n |
economy, economics, economical, etc. women, woman |
Proximity operators are a way to ensure that search terms appear next to one another, within a certain number of words, or appear in the same sentence, paragraph, or field (part of a record; for example, title or abstract). "With" and "near" may have different meanings, depending on the database, so always read the help screens for details. In the descriptions below "#" may stand for any number. Some of the vendors/databases listed above do not support proximity operators, so they are not included in the chart below.
For example:
| Software/Vendor/Database | proximity operators | example |
| EBSCO (Academic Search Premier/ Business Source Complete and many others) |
[Use with keyword or Boolean search.] W# words in exact order, can be up to # words apart N# words may be up to # words apart, order not important |
tax W8 reform tax N5 reform |
| OCLC/FirstSearch® (WorldCat) |
w words in exact order w# words in exact order, can be # of words apart (number n words next to one another, order not important n# words may be # apart, order not important (number |
successful w job successful w3 job
successful n3 job |
|
Clarivate Analytics |
SAME words in same sentence, phrase ending in a |
hepatitis SAME treatment laser* SAME gas |
| JSTOR | ~ # words within specific number of words. Terms need to be within " " | "debt forgiveness"~10 |
| Readex (American State Papers, Serial Set, Early American Imprints) |
ADJ# words within # words of each other in the same order near# words within # words of each other in any order |
Monroe ADJ3 James Jackson near5 Florida |
| Science Direct |
W/# (# between 1-255) words within # words of each other in any order PRE/# words in exact order, can be # of words apart (number between 1-255) W/SEG words must appear in same field NOT W/# first word must appear in document; second word may also appear but only if it is not within # words of first word |
pain W/15 morphine
lesion W/SEG pancreatic impaired circulation NOT W/5 diabetes |
| ProQuest (New York Times, Ethnic Newswatch, Wall Street Journal) |
W/# words within # words of each other in any order (use with "Citation and Document Text" or "Document Text") W/PARA words must appear in same paragraph (i.e. approximately 1000 characters) (use with "Document Text") NOT W/# first word must appear in document; second word may also appear but only if it is not within # words of first word (use with "Citation and Document Text" or "Document Text") PRE/# words in exact order, can be # of words apart (use with "Citation and Document Text" or "Document Text") |
truth W/15 justice
impaired circulation NOT W/5 diabetes
|
| Si vous voulez préciser, ou élargir votre recherche, demandez si la troncature et les opérateurs de proximité sont disponibles sur la base de données que vous utilisez.. Cherchez ces opérateurs bien utiles sur l'écran, dans la rubrique d'aide.
La troncature est un mécanisme qui permet de rechercher des termes multiples commençant par un préfixe donné. Par exemple; "build" accompagné d'un symbole de troncature va donner: build, bulding, buildings, builder etc…le symbole varie d'une base de données à l'autre. Le symbole de troncature est fréquemment un astérisque (*), le signe du Dollar ($) ou le signe plus (+). Dans certaines bases de données, on n'utilise la troncature que pour chercher les mots de même racine. Lisez la rubrique d'aide sur l'écran pour trouver plus de détails. Par exemple:
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Les opérateurs de proximité sont un moyen de s'assurer que les termes de recherche apparaissent ensemble dans un certain groupe de mots, phrase, paragraphe, ou champ (partie de liste par exemple, titre ou résumé). "with" (avec) et "near" (contigus) peuvent avoir des significations différentes selon les bases de données, il est impératif de lire la rubrique d'aide sur l'écran pour trouver plus de détails.
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