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Narrow your search |
Select products and categories from the drop-down menus to narrow your search. |
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To require words |
Use a plus (+) symbol in front of words to find only documents that contain those words.
| 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 in front of words to exclude documents that contain those words.
| 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... |
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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.
| Example: A search for forest wild* will find documents that contain forest wildlife or forest 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. This search type does not support the use of require (+) or exclude (-) words.
| 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 on fyre will find documents containing similar words or phrases such as house or abode, flame and fire. |
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| For your information... |
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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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