Data and Program Library Service


Tips for Searching

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At its simplest, a query can be just a word or a phrase. But with the tips on this page, you can expand the focus of your query to give you more complete results.

  • Look for words with the same prefix or suffix. For example, type key to find key, keying, keyhole, keyboard, on key, and so on.

  • Look for a phrase to ensure the words will appear together. For example, type foul ball to find entries containing foul ball but not foul or ball individually.

  • Refine your queries with the NOT keyword to exclude certain text from your search. For example, if you want to find all instances of surfing but not surfing the Net, write the following query:

          surfing NOT the Net

  • Add the OR keyword to find all instances of either one word or another, for example:

          Abbott OR Costello

    This query finds all pages that mention Abbott or Costello or both.

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Page created 18 January, 2002.
Last updated 17 July, 2002

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