Digital Search Tips

• 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 screens to find out which symbols are used.
• Truncation symbols may vary by database; common symbols include: *, !, ?, or #

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 questions about applying this technique to your search, ask a librarian.

These pages are based on a guide developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Libraries.  They are used here under the creative commons (cc) licence.  The original pages can be found here http://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=175963&p=1160724