RESource Search Tips

Doing a search of RESource is easy. Simply type one or more search terms (the words or phrase that best describe the information you want to find) into the search box and hit the 'Enter' key or click on the Search button. In response, RESource produces a results page: a list of items related to your search terms, with the most relevant item appearing first, then the next, and so on.

Simple Searches

When entering text in the search box, you can perform a simple search by entering either a word or comma-delimited strings, with optional wildcard characters. RESource treats each comma as a logical OR. If you omit the commas, RESource treats the expression as a phrase.

The following table shows examples of simple searches:

Example	Search Result
low,brass,instrument	low or brass or instrument
low brass instrument	the phrase: low brass instrument
film	film, films, filming, or filmed
filming AND fun	film, films, filming, or filmed, and fun
filming OR fun	film, films, filming, or filmed, or fun
filming NOT fun	film, films, filming, or filmed, but not fun

The following are a few important points to remember when using the AND, OR, and NOT operators:

• You can type operators in uppercase or lowercase letters.
• RESource reads operators from left to right.
• The AND operator takes precedence over the OR operator.
• Use parentheses to clarify the search. Terms enclosed in parentheses are evaluated first; innermost parentheses are evaluated first when there are nested parentheses.
• To search for a literal AND, OR, or NOT, enclose the literal term in double-quotation marks; for example: love "and" marriage.

Advanced Searches Using Wildcards

Part of the strength of the RESource search is its use of wildcards and special characters to refine searches. Wildcard searches are especially useful when you are unsure of the correct spelling of a term.

The following table shows the wildcard characters that you can use to search RESource:

Wildcard	Description	Example	Search Result
?	Matches any single alphanumeric character.	apple?	apples or applet
*	Matches zero or more alphanumeric characters. Avoid using the asterisk as the first character in a search string. An asterisk is ignored in a set, ([]) or an alternative pattern ({}).	app*ed	Appleseed, applied, appropriated, and so on
[ ]	Matches any one of the characters in the brackets. Square brackets indicate an implied OR.	<WILDCARD>'sl[iau]m'	slim, slam, or slum
{ }	Matches any one of a set of patterns separated by a comma.	<WILDCARD>'hoist{s,ing,ed}'	hoists, hoisting, or hoisted
^	Matches any character not in the set.	<WILDCARD>'sl[^ia]m'	slum, but not slim or slam
-	Specifies a range for a single character in a set.	<WILDCARD>'c[a-r]t'	cat, cot, but not cut (that is, every word beginning with c, ending with t, and containing any single letter from a to r)

To search for a wildcard character as a literal, place a backslash character before it; for example:

• To match a question mark or other wildcard character, precede the ? with one backslash. For example, type the following in the search box: Checkers\?
• To match a literal asterisk, precede the * with two backslashes and enclose the search term in either single or double quotation marks.