Search Tips

To use this search page, you can look for a single word. Or, use the tips below to refine your search to find more specific results.
Using the most unique word(s) or phrase will produce the best search results.

• Look for a personal or proper name. Do not invert names with a comma.
  Example - type charles p. alexander to match documents with the exact phrase charles p. alexander
  To broaden a personal or proper name search, use the AND operator.
  Example - type charles AND alexander to find charles p. alexander, charles alexander, alexander, charles, to match any document containing both the word charles and the word alexander
  To refine a personal or proper name search when common names are used, use the NEAR operator.
  Example - type charles NEAR alexander to match documents where the word charles is within 50 words of the word alexander.
• Look for a phrase.
  Example - type vertebrate paleontology to find the exact phrase vertebrate paleontology. Since the search is not case-sensitive, this is equivalent to Vertebrate Paleontology.
• Use a single asterisk (*) to look for words that begin with the same letters.
  Example - type paleo* to find paleontology, paleobotany, paleobiology, paleontologist, paleontological, paleobotanical, paleobotanist, and so on.
• Use a double asterisk (**) to look for all forms of a word.
  Example - type fly** to match fly, flew, flown, and flying.
• Look for two or more words at once by using the AND operator.
  Example - type vertebrate AND paleontology to find documents that have both the word vertebrate and the word paleontology anywhere.
• Look for synonyms or similar words by using the OR operator.
  Note that if you don't use the OR operator and search using multiple words, the words are treated as a phrase.
  Example - type paleontology OR paleobotany to find the word paleontology or the word paleobotany, but not necessarily both.
• Look for words that are close to each other by using the NEAR operator instead of the AND operator.
  When you use NEAR, the closer together the words are, the higher the rank of the page, so the higher it appears in the list of search results.
  Example - type vertebrate NEAR paleontology to match documents where the word vertebrate is within 50 words of the word paleontology.
• Limit your search by using the AND NOT operator to exclude words.
  Example - type vertebrate AND NOT paleontology to find all instances of vertebrate, as long as vertebrate is not followed by the phrase paleontology.
• Use double quotes if you want to use AND, OR, NOT, or NEAR literally.
  Example - type "reptiles and amphibians" to find documents with the phrase reptiles and amphibians. Without the double quotes, this query would use the AND operator instead of the phrase.