What is a Boolean search?

Boolean searching allows you to narrow down your search by using special terms before your keywords.

It's useful because it can help you make sure you don't get thousands of results when you search.

So, the next time you search you'll find what you want quicker and easier.

Where it came from

This type of searching is named after George Boole who was alive in the 1700s - quite a little time before the internet!

Before computers, librarians in the UK used this system to search for books using their card system.

As there are simpler ways to narrow your search we don't really recommend it.

Using Boolean logic

With Boolean searching you use the following:

Imagine you are searching for a cocktail that includes Rum, Vodka, Lime juice and Grenadine.

So, why don't we recommend you use it. Well, it's much easier to use the + , - , and "" symbols. To find out how to use these have a look at how to narrow your search.

Also, while you can use Boolean searching on a lot of search engines like Altavista and AOL Search - you can't use it on all of them.

And, to make things even more annoying on Altavista you write AND NOT when you don't want to include a word but in AOL Search you write NOT.

It can be difficult to remember which sites accept Boolean terms so we recommend you just stick with the + , - , and "" symbols - plus they're quicker to type!