Hi All,

Hope you're well! Yes, here at Simsbury HS, I teach search strategies using Boolean operators to students in English and Social Studies classes, particularly Grade 10, and primarily using our subscription databases, rather than using a Google search.

This infographic (sorry, forgot where we sourced this from!) has been useful in illustrating the concept for students, using modified examples relevant to their performance task, as well as what Gale provides for search tips in their Advanced Search database pages:

AND, OR, NOT

Use Boolean Operators to Refine Your Search

Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) can be used to tell the search engine more specifically what you want it to do. These are also known as "logical" operators.

If you are only using Boolean operators between two words (entered in either the same search box, or across two search rows in Advanced Search), then the Search Engine handles them as stated below. When you combine 3 or more terms, linked with Boolean operators, then the “Order of Operation” applies (see section at the end of this topic).

Use AND to narrow your search

If you put the word AND between your search terms, that tells the search engine to find only the documents that include all of the terms you connected with the term AND.

  • children and travel finds documents that contain both terms, children and travel, anywhere within the searched text.

Use OR to broaden your search

If you put the word OR between your search terms, that tells the search engine to find documents with any of the terms you connected with the term OR. This will get you get more results than if you connected your terms with AND.

  • postmortem or autopsy finds documents that contain either postmortem or autopsy or both. At least one of your terms must be present. OR is good to use when searching for variant spellings or synonymous terms.

Use NOT to exclude words

If you put the word NOT between two search terms, that tells the search engine to find documents with the first term as long as they don’t have the second term.

  • "benjamin franklin" not bache finds documents that contain the term Benjamin Franklin, but that do not contain the term Bache. This would include documents that mention Benjamin Franklin, but not his great-grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache.

Order of Operation

When you create a search query with more than two terms and use two or more Boolean operators the search engine processes that query according to the precedence of the operators. The precedence is NOT, AND, OR. You can determine the precedence by using parentheses in the query.

Whether the query is entered in one search box or spread across multiple rows in an advanced search query the processing looks like this:

user enters: schools AND guns OR violence

is searched as: (schools AND guns) OR violence

and in a hypothetical products returns 769,000 articles. All the articles with schools and guns and all the articles that just contained violence.

user enters: schools AND (guns OR violence)

is searched as shown, and returns 25,700 articles that contain schools as well as either guns or violence.

Note: Operators do not need to be capitalized. If you want to include the operators as search terms, enclose them in quotation marks (for example: "black and white photographs"). All examples are illustrative only and not specific to any one Gale resource.


Good luck, and happy searching :)

Mike

On Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 9:51 AM <casl-l-request@mylist.net> wrote:
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Today's Topics:

   1. Booleon search terms - do you teach them? (Loretta Sullivan)
   2. Re: Booleon search terms - do you teach them? (Cathy Andronik)
   3. Re: Booleon search terms - do you teach them? (Dawn M. Zillich)
   4. CASL WRAD sign-up - LAST CALL!
      (CASL Vice President - Jenny Lussier)
   5. Re: Booleon search terms - do you teach them?
      (Juliann T. Moskowitz)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Loretta Sullivan <b59lgian@mpspride.org>
To: CASL_L <casl-l@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2023 12:19:28 -0500
Subject: [CASL-L] Booleon search terms - do you teach them?
Hello everyone,

I wanted to know if you teach Booleon search terms (and,or, not) for more effective searching when using keywords?  Can someone clarify for me (I feel awful about not knowing) why when trying these search terms they do not always work?  Are they only effective when using databases vs. using a search engine to look something up?  My TIS and I were trying them in hopes of helping students learn these strategies, but did not find anything that worked the way we wanted when we tried them.  Am I missing something?  Thanks for your help!

Respectfully,

Loretta Sullivan
Library Media Specialist
Bennet Academy
Manchester, CT





For all other technology assistance (including laptops and iPads), go to the IT Helpdesk  or call / text 860-682-0607,  Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. 

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." -Charles W. Eliot

                                                    



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cathy Andronik <cathyandronik@yahoo.com>
To: CASL_L <casl-l@mylist.net>, Loretta Sullivan <b59lgian@mpspride.org>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2023 20:52:11 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Booleon search terms - do you teach them?
I think Boolean searching works better in databases than it does on the internet, just because of the way the two are set up to search.

A high school English teacher called me in to help her class.  The students were creating TED-type talks about the subject of their choosing.  They were required to include, I believe, at least three sources from databases.  Many of the topics were VERY specific (along the lines of "academic achievement of African American children growing up in urban single-parent families")--things where databases sent them in wrong directions very easily because of one inaccurate search term, and many hits on the internet were anecdotal or short memoirs rather than solid facts and statistics.  The teacher realized the students' questions were above her expertise with our databases; I sat in on a research session for a few minutes and realized that Boolean searching would help enormously.  That assignment probably led to the most genuine appreciation I'd ever gotten from our students.  I still use as an example the debate I had with a student on a video clip she wanted to use for her report on . . . I forget the details, something about the health effects of hydration.  She wanted to use a Youtube clip of a guy in a tricked out convertible telling the person behind the camera how much he was enjoying a drink of water.  I asked what point she was trying to make with that particular video; her point was more academic and health-centered, and I challenged car-guy's credentials for reliability.  Interesting discussion.

Hope this helps.

Cathy Andronik
Retired (Brien McMahon HS, Norwalk)

On Monday, 30 January 2023 at 11:20:11 am GMT-6, Loretta Sullivan <b59lgian@mpspride.org> wrote:


Hello everyone,

I wanted to know if you teach Booleon search terms (and,or, not) for more effective searching when using keywords?  Can someone clarify for me (I feel awful about not knowing) why when trying these search terms they do not always work?  Are they only effective when using databases vs. using a search engine to look something up?  My TIS and I were trying them in hopes of helping students learn these strategies, but did not find anything that worked the way we wanted when we tried them.  Am I missing something?  Thanks for your help!

Respectfully,

Loretta Sullivan
Library Media Specialist
Bennet Academy
Manchester, CT





For all other technology assistance (including laptops and iPads), go to the IT Helpdesk  or call / text 860-682-0607,  Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. 

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." -Charles W. Eliot

                                                    
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Dawn M. Zillich" <dzillich@spchs.com>
To: Loretta Sullivan <b59lgian@mpspride.org>, CASL_L <casl-l@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2023 08:01:33 -0500
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Booleon search terms - do you teach them?

This is what I use when teaching students a better way to use Google if they really don’t want to use Google Scholar:

 

Searching specific Website:

Use the following example shows how to search only within a single site:

 

Example: Lent site:http://romancatholicblog.typepad.com/

               Book Review site:nytimes.com

 

Searching topic in title:

The query intitle:term restricts results to documents containing term in the title.

 

Example: flu shot intitle:advice will return documents that mention the word “advice” in their titles, and mention the words “flu” and “shot” anywhere in the document (title or not).

 

Putting intitle: in front of every word in your query is equivalent to putting allintitle: at the front of your query. In other words, allintitle: google search Tips.

 

Example allintitle:death penalty catechism

 

Narrow or widen a search:

Adding a plus or minus sign allows you to narrow or widen your search.

 

            Examples: “civil war” +US +history

                              “civil war” +US +history -Wikipedia

                              Cancer -Lukemia

 

Searching topic in inurl:

            Example: inurl:cancer

 

(Words in the Text) + Title, URL etc.

 

If you want to find a webpage where one term appears in the text of that page and another term appears elsewhere on the page, like the title or URL, then type in that first term followed by intext:followed immediately by the other term.

 

Example: “linear algebra” intext:google

 

Specific Document Types:

Find results that are a file type, (presentations, images, documents, etc).

Example Search: "marketing strategies" filetype:ppt

Ongoing research?
Set a Google alert so you get continuous updates. Visit Google News Initiative.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Dawn M. Zillich, librarian

St. Paul Catholic High School

 

“For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next

year's words await another voice.” ― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

 

 

 

From: CASL-L <casl-l-bounces@mylist.net> On Behalf Of Loretta Sullivan
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2023 12:19 PM
To: CASL_L <casl-l@mylist.net>
Subject: [CASL-L] Booleon search terms - do you teach them?

 

Hello everyone,

 

I wanted to know if you teach Booleon search terms (and,or, not) for more effective searching when using keywords?  Can someone clarify for me (I feel awful about not knowing) why when trying these search terms they do not always work?  Are they only effective when using databases vs. using a search engine to look something up?  My TIS and I were trying them in hopes of helping students learn these strategies, but did not find anything that worked the way we wanted when we tried them.  Am I missing something?  Thanks for your help!

 

Respectfully,

 

Loretta Sullivan

Library Media Specialist

Bennet Academy

Manchester, CT

 

 

 

 

 

For all other technology assistance (including laptops and iPads), go to the IT Helpdesk  or call / text 860-682-0607,  Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. 

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." -Charles W. Eliot

 

                                                    




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CASL Vice President - Jenny Lussier <vicepresident@ctcasl.org>
To: casl listserve <CASL-L@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2023 09:25:53 -0500
Subject: [CASL-L] CASL WRAD sign-up - LAST CALL!
Good morning! 

If you or your teachers are still interested in signing up for CASL's World Read Aloud Day events tomorrow, there is still time. Sign-ups will be closed at 4pm today. Sign up here! 

If you sign up, you will receive an email on Tuesday evening with the links to the sessions. 

Thank you! 
The CASL WRAD team

9:00-9:15 Deborah Freedman - PB

10:00-10:20 Janae Marks - MG

10:40-11:00 Shawn Peters - MG

11:30-11:50 Alison Green Meyers - MG

1:10-1:30 Janet Lawler - PB

--
Jenny Lussier
Vice-president
CT Association of School Librarians



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Juliann T. Moskowitz" <juliann14@hotmail.com>
To: Loretta Sullivan <b59lgian@mpspride.org>, CASL_L <casl-l@mylist.net>
Cc: 
Bcc: 
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2023 14:51:29 +0000
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Booleon search terms - do you teach them?
I've taught Boolean searching from middle school up to university students. When I taught the concept to middle schoolers I had them stand up or sit down based on the boolean operator. Examples:  everyone with jeans AND sneakers stand up. Everyone with jeans OR sneakers stand up, etc. I think the visual representation helped them to understand it a little better.


Juliann T. Moskowitz 

Instruction and Information Literacy Librarian

Wahlstrom Library

University of Bridgeport

Bridgeport, CT 06604


 





 
     

   
From: CASL-L <casl-l-bounces@mylist.net> on behalf of Loretta Sullivan <b59lgian@mpspride.org>
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2023 12:19 PM
To: CASL_L <casl-l@mylist.net>
Subject: [CASL-L] Booleon search terms - do you teach them?
 
Hello everyone,

I wanted to know if you teach Booleon search terms (and,or, not) for more effective searching when using keywords?  Can someone clarify for me (I feel awful about not knowing) why when trying these search terms they do not always work?  Are they only effective when using databases vs. using a search engine to look something up?  My TIS and I were trying them in hopes of helping students learn these strategies, but did not find anything that worked the way we wanted when we tried them.  Am I missing something?  Thanks for your help!

Respectfully,

Loretta Sullivan
Library Media Specialist
Bennet Academy
Manchester, CT





For all other technology assistance (including laptops and iPads), go to the IT Helpdesk  or call / text 860-682-0607,  Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. 

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." -Charles W. Eliot

                                                    
_______________________________________________
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--
Mike McKenna, MLS, M.Ed. (he/him/his|pronouns matter)
Library Media Specialist
Capstone Teacher, Trojan Tech Team
AP Seminar Teacher, Interim
 Simsbury High School
34 Farms Village Road
Simsbury, CT 06070
mmckenna@simsburyschools.net
(860) 658-0451 x. 161
Joe Townsley Virtual Library