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In general... |
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| Narrow your search |
Select products and categories from the drop-down menus to narrow your search. |
| To require words |
Use a plus (+) symbol before a word to find only documents containing that word.
Example: Type +wildlife +bear to find documents that contain both words wildlife and bear.
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| To exclude words |
Use a minus (-) symbol before a word to exclude documents containing that word.
Example: Type wildlife -moose to find documents that contain the word wildlife but not moose.
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| Use uncommon words |
Use uncommon words to retrieve documents with more focused results. |
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To make your search effective, click the Search By drop-down menu and select... |
| Phrases |
Type a short phrase or question. Multi-word phrases will produce better search results.
Example: To ask the question, How can I learn more about forest wildfires, type either forest wildfires or the entire sentence.
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| Complex Expression |
This technique allows you to search a broader set of word extensions than word stemming (see "Word Stemming" below). Type an asterisk (*) after the initial letters of the word to cover all possible extensions. Also use (~) to specify a broader search on the following word by using synonym expansion and spelling correction.
Example: A search for ~forest wild* will find documents that contain forrest or forest or woods or woodland or timberland and wildlife or wildfires.
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| Exact Search |
Use this technique to find documents that match the same pattern of words entered in the text box.
Example: A search for birds of prey will find documents that contain birds prey or bird prey but not prey birds or birds capturing prey.
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| Similar Phrases |
Use this technique if you do not know the exact spelling of a word or phrase or to check for synonyms or similarly spelled words.
Example: A search for What do I do when my hous is in flam will find documents containing similar words or phrases such as house, mansion, residency, flame, flames, fire.
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For your information... |
| Word stemming |
All search techniques search for different word forms such as singular, plural, or different verb tenses.
Example: Search for reflect to find documents that contain reflection, reflections, reflected, reflecting or reflects.
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Back to Starting Point
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