Hints for Searching

You can probably get away with just trying any old text you want. The search engine tries to match pieces of words that you supply with full words in the database, but doesn't always succeed. If you put two words next to each other, they must appear next to each other in the Web page you're looking for -- Unless you use some of the magic reserved words given here:

AND
Both the word before and after it should show up, but not necessarily together.
OR
Either word can show up. Results are ordered by quality, meaning that the more that show up, the better.
<NEAR>
This is like AND except that the joined terms have to be NEAR each other, again ranked by quality (nearness).
Parentheses i.e. "(", ")"
Parentheses are allowed to group as in " (Smith OR Jones) AND Jim " .
This does not exhaust the list.
Here are some searching hints or you might check with the search engine's manufacturer.
If you're looking for a person, try starting with just their last name. If that gives too many answers you can narrow the search by adding the first name, but depending upon how that person asked for their name to be added to the printed program of the Fair, you may need to search for several alternative versions of the first name.


Last updated: Wed Jan 21 08:29:44 PST 1998
California State Science Fair / Hints for Searching / CalifSF@usc.edu