Database Truncation and Wildcard Symbols
- Truncation allows you to search for a term and its variations
- Wildcards let you substitute symbols for one or more letters. They are useful when you are unsure of spelling, when there are alternate spellings, or when you only know part of a term.
|
Library Catalog
Truncation |
? |
basket? will find basket, baskets, basketry |
Wildcards |
% (one character) |
wom%n will find woman, women |
|
? (multiple characters) |
col?r will find color, colour |
FirstSearch (Wilson OmniFile, Medline, MLA)
Plurals |
+ |
adventure+ will find adventure, adventures |
Truncation |
* |
Indian* will find Indian, Indians, Indiana, Indianapolis |
Wildcards |
# (one character) |
wom#n will find woman, women |
|
? (zero to nine characters) |
colo?r will find color, colour, colonizer |
InfoTrac (OneFile, Health Reference Center)
Truncation |
* |
pigment* will find pigment, pigments, pigmentation, etc. |
Wildcards |
? (one character) |
relev?nce will find relevance, even if you can’t remember if it’s spelled with ance or ence |
|
! (one or no characters) |
colo!r will find both color and colour |
LexisNexis
Truncation |
! |
litig! will find litigator, litigated, litigation, litigating, etc. |
Wildcard |
* (one or more characters) |
wom*n will find woman and women |
CSA (ERIC, MLA, PsycINFO)
Truncation |
* |
patent* will find patent, patents, patentable, patented, etc. |
Wildcard |
? (one character) |
wom?n will find woman and women |
| |
* (unlimited characters) |
h*ophelia will find haemophilia and hemophilia |
EBSCOhost (CINAHL, Health Source)
Truncation |
* |
effect* will find effect, effects, effective, etc. |
Wildcard |
? (one character) |
ne?t will find neat, nest, next |
JSTOR
| Truncation |
+ |
pigment* will find pigment, pigments, pigmented, pigmentation, etc. |
| Wildcard |
? |
ne?t will find neat, nest, next |
| Plurals |
& |
effect& will find effect, effects |
Project Muse
Truncation |
* |
effect* will find effect, effects, effective, etc. |