Literary Theory: Boolean searching (AND, OR, NOT)

Boolean searching allows you to combine search terms using the three Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT. To execute a Boolean search, enter the required terms separated by the Boolean operators you wish to use.

When you transfer more than one search term from a browse index to a search box, Literary Theory automatically combines them using the Boolean operator OR.

AND

The AND operator retrieves all items which contain both of the terms it separates. This normally retrieves fewer hits than searching one of the terms on its own.

For example:

If you wish to search for the word 'and' in a phrase (and therefore do not want it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and enclose it in double quotes. For example "outside and text" will find the whole phrase 'outside and text'.

OR

The OR operator retrieves all items which contain either or both of the terms it separates. This retrieves more hits than searching one of the terms on its own.

For example:

If you wish to search for the word 'or' in a phrase (and therefore do not want it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and enclose it in double quotes. For example: "play or signifier" will find the whole phrase 'play or signifier'.

NOT

The NOT operator retrieves all items that contain the first term entered but not the second.

For example:

If you wish to search for the word 'not' in a phrase (and therefore do not want it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and enclose it in double quotes. For example: "criticism not formalist" will find the whole phrase 'criticism not formalist'.

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(Literary Theory version 00:1)