Tips for Database Searching: Truncation

• Root words that have multiple endings.  Example: sun = suns, sunshine, sunny, sunlight

• Words that are spelled differently, but mean the same thing.  Example:  color, colour

• Truncation/wildcard symbols vary by database.  Check the help screens to find out which symbols are used.

Truncation:

Truncation, also called stemming, is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings.

• To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end.

• The database will return results that include any ending of that root word.

• Examples: 
  child* = child, childs, children, childrens, childhood
  genetic* = genetic, genetics, genetically

• Truncation symbols may vary by database; common symbols include: *, !, ?, or #

Wildcards:

Similar to truncation, wildcards substitute a symbol for one letter of a word.

• This is useful if a word is spelled in different ways, but still has the same meaning.
  
  
• Examples: 
  wom!n = woman, women
  colo?r = color, colour

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