Exploring the Internet - Class #5
"The Art of Searching the Web"
Use search engine operators to help refine a search
| Operator | Description | Examples | Explanation |
| Space or + | Use the space or plus operator (+) when you want search results to display hits that include specific words. | art + music art music |
Results have both words art and music - in any order |
| OR | Use the OR operator when you want search results to display hits that include only one word from a list. | dog OR puppy dog OR puppy OR canine |
Results have either the word
dog or puppy. Results have the word dog, or puppy, or canine. |
| - | Use the minus operator (-) when you want to exclude a word from your search results. | automobile -convertible | Results include automobile but do not include convertible. |
| " " | Use the quotation marks operator when you want to search for an exact phrase in a certain order. | "19th century literature" | Results include only hits that have the exact phrase, 19th century literature. |
| * | Use the asterisk operator (*) when you want search results to substitute characters in place of the asterisk. | writer* | Results include any word that begins with writer (e.g., writer, writers, writer's). |