Truncation
How can I use this?
Truncation is another technique which allows you to expand your search results.
What is truncation?
Truncation is another technique you can use to expand your search results. If you were looking for books about shrubs, you might use the Boolean operator OR to capture all of the variations in the word by typing in shrub OR shrubs OR shrubbery. Another way to find word variations is to type the stem of the word followed by a truncation symbol. Instead of the Boolean operator search, you could use truncation and type in: shrub* for the same results.
Here are some examples of truncation:
- farm* (finds farm, farms, farmers, farming)
- garden* (finds garden, gardens, gardening)
- ocean* (finds ocean, oceans, oceanography, oceanic)
Databases platforms may use different symbols for truncation (e.g. *, ?, #, $). Check the Help information (e.g. Web of Science Help) to determine what symbol is used and how it works in the database you have selected.
Caution! Don't truncate too early . . .
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If you're looking for books about cats, and you type "cat*", not only will you find cat and cats, you will also find catapults, cations, categories, and worst of all, catastrophe! |