Guide
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Words
What are stop words?
Stop words are frequently occurring, insignificant words words that appear in a database record, article or web page. Common stop words include:
a, an, the, in, of, on, are, be, if, into, which
The exception to this rule is that many databases recognize common stop words when they are part of the controlled vocabulary of subject headings and descriptors.
Example: Balance of Payments
Stop words vary by database. Check the help screens for a list.
Why
should I care about stop words?
- So you know which words to exclude from your search statement.
- To make sure they are included if they are a significant part of your search.
In
some databases, you can use techniques to include stop words
as part of the search. Some databases use quotes " " around
stop words.
Example:
Title keyword= out "of" africa
retrieves title: Out of Africa
How
should I avoid using these common stop words in my search?
Choose the most significant
words that describe your topic and connect them together using
Boolean operators or proximity
operators.
For
more information about searching for information, Ask Us! .
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