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Bibliographic Catalogue

Tips on making a search

 

Truncature

 

Is a search tool which enables one to find the singular/plural of the same word, as well as all the words with the same root.

The truncation is made by using the following:

  • "?" – substitutes a character,
  • * (asterisk) - substitutes zero or multiple characters.

Example of a search using the "?" character:

A search in the title field that has the term "economi?"

 

… and you’ll find records with the words "economic" and "economics":

Economic

 

Economics

 

Example of a search using an * (asterisk):

A search in the title field with the term "gest*"

 

… and you’ll find records with the words "gestão", and "gestion", and "gestor":

Gestão

 

Gestion

 

Gestor

 

 

Boolean operators

 

Define the relationships between search terms. Boolean operators are:

  • AND – (E) – crossed,
  • OR – (Ou) – agglomerated
  • NOT – (Não) – excludes

 

They enable one to expand or narrow down a search, with a combination of two or more terms.

 

AND

  • To retrieve documents that combine two or more ideas, you have to link the search terms with the
    word AND (or E). This operator combines the search terms and both the terms will appear somewhere
    in the entry. The AND Boolean operator is used to narrow down the search.

 

 

  • The "Sustainable Development" AND "Europe" search will not return entries which have just the word
    "Sustainable Development" or just the word "Europe". It must have both the terms.

 

OR

 

  • To find documents that contain one or the other term used in the search, you should use the OR (Ou)
    operator to combine the words. In this case, the search results contain just one, or the other key
    word, which thus results in a wider search. It unites the entries that contain one or the other term.

 

  • In the "Higher Education" OR "University" search, all those entries that have either one of the words
    will be returned.

 

NOT

 

  • To exclude key words in your search, use the NOT Boolean operator, which enables you to narrow
    down your search. With this help you can retrieve documents which not only have the first term, but
    also excluding all entries that contain the second word. NOT widens the search.

 

  • In the "Economia financeira" NOT "Finanças" search, all those entries that have the word "Economia financeira" and not the word "Finanças" will be returned.