Discover how to use search techniques (e.g., keywords, Boolean operators, wildcards, etc.) to refine your search results in WorldCat.org and WorldCat Find.
Several techniques are available for searching. To get the best results, use an advanced search.
Keyword search
Note: Keyword search is the default search in WorldCat.org and WorldCat Find.
A keyword search uses one or more complete words that are contained anywhere in the item's record, including titles, notes, abstracts, summaries, descriptions, and subjects.
Keywords can also be names of people and places that are the subjects of a library resource or a listing in a directory.
You can enter words in upper or lower case, and if you use multiple words you can enter them in any order.
Example
A keyword search for blood chemistry returns these titles:
- Abnormal blood chemistry values in Hodgkin's disease
- Chemistry of blood type
- Early blood chemistry in Britain and France
- General clinical chemistry — Blood loss from laboratory tests
Your search results can contain a range of items related to your search keyword(s):
- words from the title
- words that describe the subject matter
- the author's name
- the item's format and/or language
- year of publication
- name(s) or publishers and/or distributors of the item
- if the item is an article, the name of the magazine or journal in which the article appeared
- for recorded music and movies: artist, actor, or director name
Phrase search
A phrase search uses quotation marks to allow an exact match to the phrase searched.
Example
A phrase search for "blood chemistry" returns these titles:
- Abnormal blood chemistry values in Hodgkin's disease
- Blood chemistry tutorials
- Early blood chemistry in Britain and France
- Study in post-operative blood chemistry
Although these examples show titles, your search results can contain the same range of items as a keyword search.
Boolean operators
Boolean operators allow you to narrow or broaden your search group, include, or exclude certain terms in your search. Searches that include too many boolean operators will not yield any results.
Note: Boolean operators must be capitalized.
Operator |
Description |
Examples |
AND or a plus sign (+) |
The use of the word AND or the plus sign will search for all words entered in the search field.
Note: This is the default search operator in WorldCat.org. Any search for terms without an operator will return items with all the words.
|
Any of the following searches return results with all of the words entered in the search field (guns, germs, steel).
- guns germs steel
- guns AND germs AND steel
- guns + germs + steel
|
OR or a vertical bar ( | ) |
The use of the word OR or the vertical bar will search for either of the words entered in the search field. |
Any of the following searches return results with any of the words entered in the search field (Paris, fashion).
- Paris OR fashion
- Paris | fashion
|
NOT or a minus sign (-) |
The use of the word NOT or the minus sign will exclude terms entered in the search field. |
Any of the following searches return results with fashion excluded.
- Paris NOT fashion
- Paris - fashion
|
You can also use the following to group or narrow your search:
- Quotation marks (" ") - Enclose your search terms in quotation marks to search for an exact phrase (e.g., A search for "The Grapes of Wrath" returns items with The Grapes of Wrath directly next to each other).
- Parentheses ( () ) - Enclose a Boolean string in parentheses to create more precise searches (e.g., A search for dog (walking or feeding or grooming) returns items with dog walking, dog feeding, and dog grooming).
Common word exclusion
Before a search is sent to the search engine, any words from the common word lists will be excluded. Any words in the search that start with a plus sign (+) or a minus sign (-) will not be excluded.
English
a
an
and
are
as
at
be
but
by
for |
from
had
have
he
her
his
how
in
is
it |
not
of
on
or
that
the
this
to
was
which |
with
you |
German
als
am
auf
aus
das
dass
der
dich
dir
du |
er
es
ihr
ihre
ihres
im
in
ist
kein
mein |
mich
mir
mit
sein
sie
von
wer
wie
wird |
Wildcards
Wildcards are special characters used to represent additional characters in a search term. They are useful when you are unsure of the spelling, when there are alternate spellings, or when you only know part of a term.
Pound sign
The pound sign (#), also called a number sign or hashtag, represents a single character.
Examples
A search for wom#n returns items whose record contains:
A search for adverti#e returns items whose record contains:
Question mark
The question mark (?) represents any number of additional characters. Include a number if you know the maximum number of characters the wildcard will replace.
Examples
A search for anders?n returns items whose record contains:
A search for bu?2ler returns items whose record contains:
WorldCat Find search indexes
This table lists the search indexes available in WorldCat Find. Click an index name to open a detailed description. You can use any of these indexes to perform an advanced search in the "Find books, articles, and more" text field.
Truncation
Truncation allows you to search for a term and its variations by entering a minimum of the first three letters of the term followed by a question mark symbol (?) or an asterisk (*).
Examples
A search for securit* returns items whose record contains:
-
security
-
securities
-
securitization
A search for invest* returns items whose record contains:
-
investor
-
invested
-
investing
-
investiture
-
investment