Truncation and Wildcards

As you learned in the library catalog module, truncation, also called stemming, is a useful technique, especially with keyword searching. Truncation accounts for various word endings and spellings. It works when you enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end. The database will return results that include any ending of that root word.

Truncation symbols may vary by database. Popular ones include *, !, ?, or #. Look at the database Help screens to determine whether the database supports truncation as well as which symbol to use.

Examples:

polit* = politic, politics, political, politically
neuro! = neuroscience, neurology, neurological

Neuro* search in PubMed

Google and many search engines don't allow truncation, so use OR in Google to get results on word variations.

Similar to truncation, wildcards substitute a symbol for one letter of a word. This is useful if the word is spelled in different ways (color vs. colour) or you are unsure of the spelling. The same symbols above used for truncation may be used as wildcards.

Examples:

wom!n = woman, women
col?r = color, colour

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Last modified: Aug 06, 2008, 12:08 EDT