Gann Online Help: Boolean Search Terms

• Words and Phrases
  
  
• Connectors
  • And
  • Or
  • And Not
  • Combining Connectors
  
  
• Special Characters
  • Asterisk ( * )
  • Question Mark ( ? )
  • Tilde ( ~ )
  
  
• Punctuation
  • Parentheses
  • Quotation marks
  
  
• Proximity Delimiters
  • Within x words (w/x)
    • Within x words of first word (xfirstword)
    • Within x words of last word (xlastword)
  • Within x words before (pre/x)
  
  
• Examples
  
  

Words and Phrases

1. Words in Boolean searches are not case sensitive.
2. Short words such as "to" or connectors such as and, or or and not are not specifically searched as words. So a search for right to know would return any file containing the word right followed by any intervening word followed by the word know. To include such a word, use quotation marks around the search term. Example: search for "right to know" instead of right to know.
3. You do not need to use any special punctuation or commands to search for a phrase. Simply enter the phrase the way it ordinarily appears. You can use a phrase anywhere in a search request. Example: apple w/5 fruit salad.
4. Punctuation within a search term is treated as a space.

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Connectors

Connectors are search commands that help you narrow a search and to indicate the relationship among the words you are using in your search term.

And

Use the connector and when both words in your search term must be present. For example, search for apple and pear if the search must find both words.

Or

Use the connector or when either or both words in your search term must be present. For example, search for apple or pear if the search must find either word.

And Not

Use the connector and not when only one word in your search term must be present. For example, search for apple and not pear if the search must find only apple.

Combining Connectors

If you use more than one connector, you should use parentheses to indicate precisely what you want to search for. For example, apple and pear or orange could mean (apple and pear) or orange, or it could mean apple and (pear or orange).

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Special Characters

Special characters are used to modify search words in specific ways to permit the search to find closely related words or phrases.

Asterisk ( * )

An asterisk ( * ) is a wildcard character that may be used in place of any number of characters in a search word. (NOTE: Use of the * wildcard character near the beginning of a word will slow searches somewhat.) For example:

appl* would match apple, application, etc.
*cipl* would match principle, participle, etc.
ap*ed would match applied, approved, etc.

Question Mark ( ? )

A question mark ( ? ) is a wildcard character that may be used in place of any single character in a search word. For example:

d?rt would match dart or dirt
b?ttle would match battle or bottle
r?ad would match read or road

Tilde ( ~ )

A tilde ( ~ ) is used in a search term to extend the search to cover grammatical variations on a word. For example:

fish~ would find fish, fished, fishing
applied~ would find apply, applies, applying

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Punctuation

The only punctuation marks that affect a search term are parentheses and quotation marks. Other punctuation types -- periods, commas and the like -- are disregarded in a search and treated as if they were spaces.

Parentheses

Parentheses are used to indicate precisely what you want to search for. For example, if you attempt to search for apple and pear or orange, the term could mean (apple and pear) or orange, or it could mean apple and (pear or orange).

Quotation marks

Quotation marks can be used to indicate an exact phrase. For example, you can use quotation marks to search for the phrase "right to know".

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Proximity Delimiters

Proximity delimiters are search commands that focus the search on terms that are or are not within a specified distance of another term or location in the records searched.

Within x words (w/x)

Whenever it is important to find two search terms that are or are not within a specified proximity to each other, the w/x command can be included in the search command. For example:

expert w/5 witness to find expert only where it is within 5 words of witness
expert not w/5 witness to find expert only if it is not within 5 words of witness

Within x words of first word (xfirstword)

The w/x proximity delimiter can also be used to find a search term that is close to the beginning of a record. For example:

expert w/5 xfirstword to find expert only where it is within 5 words of the start of a record

Within x words of last word (xlastword)

The w/x proximity delimiter can also be used to find a search term that is close to the end of a record. For example:

expert w/5 xlastword to find expert only where it is within 5 words of the end of a record

Within x words before (pre/x)

Whenever it is important to find two search terms that are or are not within a specified proximity to each other and in a particular order, the pre/x command can be included in the search command. For example:

expert pre/5 witness to find expert only where it is within 5 words before witness

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Examples

1. You want to locate files containing "collateral estoppel" as a phrase:
   QUERY: collateral estoppel
2. You want to locate files that contain "collateral estoppel" OR "res judicata"
   QUERY: (collateral estoppel) OR (res judicata)
3. You want to locate files that contain "collateral estoppel" AND "res judicata"
   QUERY: (collateral estoppel) AND (res judicata)
4. You want to locate files that contain "collateral estoppel" AND NOT "res judicata"
   QUERY: (collateral estoppel) AND NOT (res judicata)
5. You want to locate files that contain "collateral estoppel" within 5 words of "res judicata"
   QUERY: (collateral estoppel) W/5 (res judicata)
6. You want to locate files that contain "collateral estoppel" not within 5 words of "res judicata"
   QUERY: (collateral estoppel) NOT W/5 (res judicata)
7. You want to locate files that contain "collateral estoppel" within the first 40 words of the file
   QUERY: (collateral estoppel) W/40 xfirstword
8. You want to locate files that contain "collateral estoppel" within the last 40 words of the file
   QUERY: (collateral estoppel) W/40 xlastword

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