| Search tool |
Example of search string in box |
What that means to the database |
| * = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string |
Hyl* |
Will find all uses of "Hyl . . ." anywhere in a record: e.g., Hylarana, Hyla, Hylidae, Hylinae, Hylaedactyla. |
| * = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string |
*Hyla |
Will find all uses of ". . . hyla" anywhere in a record: e.g., Hyla, Hylidae, Plectrohyla, Ptychadena hylaea, Adenomera hylaedactyla |
| Single word |
Hyla |
Will find all records that contain stand-alone uses of Hyla: e.g., Hyla, Hyla arenicolor |
| Strings of words without quotation marks |
Lithobates pipiens |
Interprets this as "Lithobates OR pipiens" so will find the union of all records that contain either "Lithobates" or "pipiens": e.g., Lithobates omiltemanus, Hylorana pipiens |
| Strings of word with quotation marks |
"Lithobates pipiens" |
Interprets this as "Lithobates AND pipiens" so will return all records that have the character string "Lithobates pipiens" anywhere within a record: e.g., all members of the Lithobates pipiens complex. |
| AND statement. Means that the results of the search must include both words held together by an AND |
Lithobates AND pipiens |
Same as "Lithobates pipiens" |
| OR statement. Means that the results of the search will all records that have either of the terms held together by an OR |
Lithobates OR "Costa Rica" |
Recovers all records that contain the word "Lithobates" or "Costa Rica": 402 records inasmuch as this will include all records for the entire amphibian fauna of Costa Rica |
| Combining Boolean operators within the Basic Search box (AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks) |
Lithobates AND "Costa Rica" NOT forreri |
Recovers only records that contain the word Lithobates AND "Costa Rica", but excludes any record that contains the word "forreri" in any part of the record: 9 records |
| Printable HELP file |