Data Sources for Social Scientists: Search Hints and Examples
This page provides some methods for performing keyword, phrase, and Boolean OR / AND functions.
Searching for a single word or term
Keyword searching for a single term automatically truncates words you enter. Therefore, searching on the word code also finds codes, codebook, and geocode. However, there are times when you may not want the terms truncated. To eliminate unwanted truncation, append \b to the term. (Conversely, append \B to the term to retrieve only truncated words.)
| Your search term: | These terms are retrieved: | To disable truncation, enter: |
|---|---|---|
| roper | Roper, property | roper\b |
Phrase searching
Searching for a phrase is assumed when you enter words that are adjacent to each
other. Note that the last term (but only the last term) in a phrase
will be automatically truncated. For example, searching for social
science retrieves social
science or social sciences.
| You enter: | These results are retrieved: |
|---|---|
| survey method | General Social Survey, Computer-Assisted Survey Methods (CSM), [tables only], University of California, Berkeley |
| county business pattern | County Business Patterns |
Boolean searching (OR)
To search for one term OR another term OR both, place a "pipe" symbol between each term. Remember that single terms and the last word of each phrase you enter will be automatically truncated.
| You enter: | These results are retrieved: |
|---|---|
| county|counties | County and City
Data Books Social Sciences Data Center, University of Virginia
County Business Patterns U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Intercensal Estimates for States, Counties, and School Districts, U.S. Census Bureau USA Counties, homepage, U.S. Census Bureau FIPS codes for counties OSEDA, University of Missouri
|
| department of energy|department of transportation | Department of Energy,
homepage Energy Information Administration Department of Transportation, homepage |
Boolean searching (AND)
To search for one term AND the other in the same field, place a period and asterisk (.*) between terms with no spaces. However, the two terms must be in the order in which they're listed. For example, study.*income will retrieve the phrase "Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)" but not the phrase "Luxembourg Income Study (LIS)." The differences are illustrated in the search examples below.
| You enter: | These results are retrieved: |
|---|---|
| consumer survey | (no results) |
| consumer.*survey | Consumer Expenditure Survey, homepage (CES), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| survey.*consumer | Survey of Consumer Finances Federal Reserve Board |