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Wildcard symbols (usually the symbol ?) can be typed in place of a letter or letters within a keyword if you are not sure of the spelling or if there are different forms of the root word. Always check the Help or Tips links available within most library databases to verify the wildcard symbol that should be used, usually (?) question mark.
Example:
wom?n will find both women and woman.
Typing the stem or root of a word and an asterisk (*) at the end will pick of all forms of the root word. Always check the Help or Tips links available within most library databases to verify the truncation symbol that should be used, usually an (*).
Example:
teen* will find teen, teens, teenage, teenager, and teenagers.
Be careful not to end the stem or root of a word too early. In the example below, the database will retrieve far too many and various results:
Example:
cat* will find cat, cats, catalog, catastrophe, catsup, etc.
Use quotation marks (" ") around a keyword phrase to find that exact phrase.
Example:
"global warming" will find the exact phrase global warming