BOOLEAN SEARCH
RESEARCH NOTES
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Boolean search is a structured search process that allows the user to insert words or phrases such as AND, OR,
NOT to limit, broaden and define the search results. Boolean search allows the combination of five different elements
to conduct a search and utilizes a search engine to its fullest potential.
● any search engine across the Internet using certain symbols and there is no restriction on how many you
use in one search string.
1. AND: placing AND between search keywords will allow user's results to include both (or all) of the keywords. The
search terms that follow the AND must appear in the search results.
2. OR: user writes OR when he/she wants to search for something that has the possibility of including either set of
search terms. All combination possibilities will come up.
3. NOT: when a user dos not want a specific search term to appear in the results, he/she writes NOT after the
preferred search term. This will prevent the terms from coming up.
4. Quotation marks “”: when users want to search for an exact phrase, they use quotation marks around that
phrase.
5. Parentheses (): placing parentheses allows separation of the terms and preference to be given to specified ones.
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_most_commonly_used_Boolean_search_operators
Boolean Operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT) used as conjunctions to combine or exclude
keywords in a search, resulting in more focused and productive results. This should save time and effort by
eliminating inappropriate hits that must be scanned before discarding.
● Operator #1: AND.
● Operator #2: OR.
● Operator #4: Brackets ()
● Operator #5: Quotations “”
● Operator #6: Asterisk *
● Sample String: Boolean Search in Recruitment.
● Advanced Operator #1: Tilde ~
● Advanced Operator #2: NEAR.
3 basic Boolean query modifiers
1. Quotes. Quotation marks are used when searching for exact phrase that consist of more than one word.
2. Asterisk. Put an asterisk at the end of your keyword if you would like to include all of its variations.
3. Parentheses. Parentheses are used are most commonly used to wrap OR search.
How do you use Boolean search brackets?
● Brackets are used to define the order in which the concepts are processed. Use brackets when using
Boolean Operators such as ‘(art AND therapy) NOT children’ so that the database will only look for articles
about art and therapy but exclude those that mention children.
What do parentheses() do in a search?
● You can enclose search terms and their operators in parentheses to specify the order in which they are
interpreted. Information within parentheses is read first, then information outside parentheses is read next.
What do quotation marks”” do in a search?
● To search an exact phrase, use quotation marks. Quotation marks signal to Google that you’re looking for an
exact match. Searching within quotes only finds results that include all of those words, in that specific
order.
What is an example of truncation*?
● Truncation lets you search for a word that could have multiple endings. The symbol for truncation is usually
an * at the point where the spelling of the word could change. For example, PTSD AND music* would find
articles with the terms PTSD and music/musical/musician/musicians/musicality in them.
Why do you use minus symbols in a web search?
● Subtraction. – (Negative Symbol): adding ‘-‘ before a word in a query will tell a search engine to ignore
pages that use that word prominently. This can be especially helpful when you’re trying to find a specific
piece of information, but the word that you’re using has multiple meanings.
Why do you use quotation marks when conducting a search on a search engine?
● Using quotation marks for phrase searching will help to ensure that the results you get back in a search
engine are accurate. When you search for a phrase like corporate social responsibility the search engine
will bring back any results that have those words in them.
How do I search for a direct quote on Google?
● When you want to search for an exact phrase, you should enclose the entire phrase in quotation marks. This
tells Google to search for the precise keywords in the prescribed order.
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Great definitions
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OPERATOR #1: AND
Functionality: Includes multiple criteria in search results
When to Use It: Use the AND operator to narrow search results based on multiple requirements.
Explanation: If you’re looking to hire a new software engineer, you’d use the AND operator to search for software
AND engineer. The results you receive will include both “software” and “engineer.”
OPERATOR #2: OR
Functionality: Includes one or more criteria in search results
When to Use It: Use the OR operator to expand your search results.
Explanation: Your developer role is still vacant. You’re familiar with the software engineer vs. developer debate, so
you broaden your search results by using the OR operator to search for engineer OR developer. This will generate a
results list that includes either “engineer” or “developer.”
OPERATOR #3: NOT OR (-)
Functionality: Excludes unwanted criteria from search results
When to Use It: Use the NOT or (-) operator to narrow your search results by omitting unwanted criteria.
Explanation: Perhaps one of the most common and practical uses of Boolean search in recruitment is including the
NOT operator to eliminate job postings; you’re looking for candidates to fill open roles, not a job seeker looking for a
new position. To eliminate job postings and descriptions from your search results, include one or more of the following
operators in your search string:
● NOT job; -job
● NOT jobs; -jobs
● NOT hire; -hire
● NOT hiring; -hiring
Use the (-) operator when searching on Google or LinkedIn, removing a space between the minus symbol and the
keyword.
Boolean Search Example
● software engineer NOT job
● software engineer -job
OPERATOR #4: BRACKETS ()
Functionality: Group search phrases and prioritize operators
When to Use It: Use the brackets operator to include multiple operators without changing the search query.
Explanation: Brackets maintain groupings and indicate priority. Let’s say we’re looking for either a software engineer
or developer. Since engineers specialize in various disciplines — chemical, mechanical, biomechanical, etc. — and
developers are often associated with construction, it’s important we include software in our search string.
Without the brackets operator, the search string would look like this: software AND engineer OR developer NOT jobs.
In this example, the search engine does not know which search to prioritize. Including brackets around engineer OR
developer signals to the search engine to perform the engineer OR developer query first, then eliminate all results
that do not include “software,” and all results relating to job, jobs, hire or hiring.
Boolean Search Example
● software AND (engineer OR developer) -job -jobs -hire -hiring
OPERATOR #5: QUOTATIONS “”
Functionality: Search for exact phrase
When to Use It: Use the quotations operator when you want results that include an exact phrase.
Explanation: This is probably the search operator you’re most familiar with. We often use it when we’ve lost track of
the source for a quote we like or when we need to find the name of a song we only remember a line or two of.
However, when performing a Boolean search in recruitment, only use the quotations operator when you are confident
in the exact phrase you’re looking for. Otherwise, you’ll unintentionally exclude a large pool of viable results.
Boolean Search Example
Your team has decided that they are looking for a software engineer, not developer. To refine your search results,
update your search query to the following:
● “software engineer” -job -jobs -hire -hiring
OPERATOR #6: ASTERISK *
Functionality: Search for variations of a root word
When to Use It: Use the asterisk operator to broaden your search results when you know there are multiple
variations of a root word.
Example: To vastly expand your search results for a manager, searching for manag* will pull results like: manager,
managed, managing, manages, management, managerial, etc.
Pay careful attention to where you truncate the root word as including an extra letter will modify your results. For
example, searching for manage* will eliminate managing from the original list.
Boolean Search Example
● software AND (engineer OR developer) -job -jobs -hire -hiring AND manag*
SAMPLE STRING: BOOLEAN SEARCH IN RECRUITMENT
Now, let’s put these six operators to use and work backward to decode this search string.
● software AND (engineer OR developer) -job -jobs -hire -hiring AND manag* AND (“Ruby on Rails” OR
Ruby)
Our first two operators — software AND (engineer OR developer) — describe the role we’re looking for: a software
engineer or software developer. We want individuals who meet this main requirement and who:
● Have management experience, but do not necessarily have “manager” in their title: AND manag*
● Have experience working with Ruby languages: (“Ruby on Rails” OR Ruby)
We also want to eliminate all job postings for similar roles: -job -jobs -hire -hiring
ADVANCED OPERATOR #1: TILDE ~
Functionality: Search for synonyms of a word
When to Use It: Use the tilde (~) operator to expand your search results when including criteria that
may be described in multiple ways.
Explanation: When sourcing candidates, you’re interested in resumes, not job descriptions.
However, you don’t necessarily want to exclude candidates who have a CV or curriculum vitae. Add
the tilde operator to your search string to include all three application documents within your search
results.
Boolean Search Example
● software AND (engineer OR developer) AND ~resume -job -jobs -hire -hiring AND manag*
AND (“Ruby on Rails” OR Ruby)
ADVANCED OPERATOR #2: NEAR
Functionality: Search for two words that appear within 1-10 words of each other in results
When to Use It: Use the NEAR operator to include a broader topic in your search results without
unfavorably limiting them to an exact phrase.
Explanation: If you want your software engineer candidates to have experience in web
development, use the NEAR operator to include results that discuss web development and are not
limited to “web development” exactly.
As we discussed earlier, “develop” has many variations. To include results such as “web developer”
or “developed multiple web pages,” use the asterisk operator on develop*. Include brackets to
ensure the NEAR operator is interpreted properly.
Boolean Search Example
● software AND (engineer OR developer) AND ~resume -job -jobs -hire -hiring AND manag*
AND (“Ruby on Rails” OR Ruby) AND (web NEAR develop*)
ADVANCED OPERATOR #3: FILETYPE:
Functionality: Search for results in specific file formats
When to Use It: Use the filetype: operator when searching your ATS or the web for resume or CV documents.
Explanation: Include a filetype: operator in your search string to limit results to only those with a specified file
attachment that contains the other operator criteria. Since resumes can be linked online in various formats,
we’ll also use the OR operator to avoid excluding other qualified resumes that may be in a different file type.
Boolean Search Example
● software AND (engineer OR developer) AND ~resume (filetype:pdf OR filetype:doc OR filetype:txt OR filetype:docx) -job
-jobs -hire -hiring AND manag* AND (“Ruby on Rails” OR Ruby) AND (web NEAR develop*)
ADVANCED OPERATOR #4: URL: AND SITE:
Functionality: Search for results within a specific website
When to Use It: Use either the URL: or site: operator to narrow your search results to websites that are home to your
target candidates, such as social media platforms or networking sites. Do not include a space between the operator
and domain, as in: site:google.com.
Explanation: Since you’re looking for a software engineer, you can narrow your search results to only resumes from
known developer websites, such as GitHub.com.
When sourcing across the entire internet, you’re sure to find candidates who meet your stated criteria. However,
when searching a specific website, you will likely need to pare down your search string to just the basics to start.
Then, add operators back on one at a time in order of priority to whittle down your list of results.
Boolean Search Example
● site:github.com software AND (engineer OR developer) AND ~resume -job -jobs -hire -hiring
ADVANCED OPERATOR #5: INTITLE: / INTEXT: / INURL:
Functionality: Search for results with keywords within the title (intitle:) or body text (intext:) of a web page, or within
the URL (inurl:).
When to Use It: As an alternative to the filetype: operator, use the intitle: or intext: operators to search for resume
pages or links within a website, or use the inurl: operator to find a relevant URL.
Explanation: Often, job seekers create online portfolios with links to all their work and application documents. While
there is usually the opportunity to download a file, resumes and CVs are often uploaded as a web page with “resume”
or “CV” in the title.
Using the intext: operator performs the same function as intitle:, but within the body text of a web page, just as the
inurl: operator searches within the URL.
Boolean Search Example
● site:github.com (inurl:resume OR inurl:CV) software AND (engineer OR developer) -job -jobs -hire -hiring
