1. Truncation

Searching for a word that has lots of possible endings? Truncation is a quick way to find your  word and all its variations.

Add the truncation symbol * (an asterisk) to the end of your word to search for the "root" form of a word with all its different endings.

Example: typing bank* retrieves: bank, banks, banking, bankers, bankruptcy

2. Phrase Searching

Want to search for two or more words and make sure they’re next to each other, and in the exact order in you enter them?

Just put quotation marks around the words you want treated as a phrase.

Example: “immigration policy”, “state of the union”  

3. Find Words on a Page

Trying to locate your search terms in the text of a webpage? Nearly every web browser comes with a Find tool, which allows you to scan the page for matching words or phrases:

Press Ctrl + F (Windows) or Command + F (Mac). 
This opens the "Find" box in virtually any browser. This command can also be found in the Edit menu in Internet Explorer, or in the ☰ menu in Chrome and Firefox.

For even more search tips see “How to Find Articles” and “Google Scholar Search Tips”.

Brought to you by the Library’s Undergraduate Experience Team.