Credo Reference: Search Tips
Search Tips
The following tips are for searching beyond the Advanced Search level. For more search tips and informative videos, visit the Research Quick Tips page on Credo.
Prefix Operators
Prefix operators are symbols that go in front of a word or phrase and indicate how the word must occur within the retrieved entries. This syntax can be used by itself or in combination with Boolean syntax.
| Operator | Function | Description |
|---|---|---|
| + | Must Occur | All retrieved entries must contain this word or phrase. If a term or phrase has no prefix operator, + is implied. |
| ^ | Should Occur | Retrieved entries with this word should rank higher than those without this word or phrase. |
| ! | Should Not Occur | Retrieved entries with this word should rank lower than those without this word or phrase. |
| - | Must Not Occur | Retrieved entries must not contain this word or phrase. |
| " " | Phrase | Surround two or more words with double quotes to search that prhase. Word order in the retrieved entries is the same as word order in the phrase. |
| * | Truncation | Search word variations allowing any number of letters to occur where the * is located. Can be used in front of the word, inside the word, or at the end of the word. |
| ? | Wild Card | Search word variations allowing any single letter to occur where the ? is located. Can be used in front of the word, inside the word, or at the end of the word. |
| ~ | Sounds Like | Retrieve entries with words that sound like this word. Useful when the exact spelling of a term is unknown. |
Note: Syntax searching assumes all other score factors are equal. If there are more than 200 words that match the requested pattern, onl ythe first 200 will be searched.
Boolean Searching
Credo supports Boolean operations and nested queries which allows you to broaden or narrow your search by combining words or phrases using the operators AND, OR, and NOT. Operations are evaluated left to right. You can change the order of evaluation by using nested parentheses to specify the evaluation order.
| Operator | Function |
|---|---|
| AND | Both words or phrases must exist. Example: lowell AND industrial revolution |
| OR | One or more of the words must exist. Example: USSR OR Soviet Union |
| NOT | The word or phrase to the left of the operator must exist, and the word or phrase to the right of the operator must not exist. Example: football AND soccer |
Note: Words and phrases in a Boolean search can use field qualifiers or prefix operators except the "sounds like" operator.