How Word Search Works

In Word Search you enter a word or words and click “Search.” Word Search then looks in all the types of encyclopedia contents, which are listed on the left side of the window. Numbers tell how many items of each type include that word or words. Click on a type of content to see the list of items.

Click here for information on how List of Contents A-Z works.

Click here for information on viewing search results.

Click here for information on basic word search operators.

Click here for information on advanced word search operators.

Click here for information on using the Web Link Directory Search.


How List of Contents A-Z Works

List of Contents A-Z works like an index. It has an alphabetical “All Contents” list and an alphabetical list for each type of content (articles, pictures, etc.). “All Contents” is the first list shown. To see a different list, click on a type of content. To find an item in a list, enter a word or words and the list moves to show items that begin with those words. The first title that begins with the word or words is highlighted. If no title begins with the word or words, the next title in alphabetical order is highlighted.

Click here for information on how Word Search works.

Click here for tips on using List of Contents A-Z.

Click here for information on using the Web Link Directory Search.


When to Use Word Search or List of Contents A-Z

Use Word Search to find all items that include the word or words. Use List of Contents A-Z when you want to go directly to a title. For example, Word Search will find all items mentioning tigers, but List of Contents A-Z will take you directly to the article titled “Tiger.” Use List of Contents A-Z also for browsing—for example, to look at lists of all articles, all movies, etc. When you start the encyclopedia, the Find window opens automatically with Word Search. To switch to List of Contents A-Z, use the “Go to” button.

Click here for information on how Word Search works.

Click here for information on how List of Contents A-Z works.

Click here for information on viewing search results.

Click here for tips on using List of Contents A-Z.

Click here for information on using the Web Link Directory Search.


Using List of Contents A-Z

When using List of Contents A-Z, keep in mind that titles are usually singular. To find the article on tigers, you would enter the word tiger, not tigers. Sometimes there may not be a title matching the word or words you entered. For example, there is no article titled “Monkey.” Instead, there is one called “Apes and Monkeys.” If you enter the word monkey, you will see “Monkey Dinner Bell see Sandbox Tree,” “Monkey flower see Mimulus,” and “Monkey see Apes and Monkeys” in the articles list. Clicking on the cross-reference “Monkey see Apes and Monkeys” will take you to the “Apes and Monkeys” article.

If no title matches the word or words you are looking for—and there is no cross-reference to another article—go to Word Search. Suppose you are looking for information on lobsters. If you enter the word lobster in List of Contents A-Z, you will find that the only article title beginning with that word is “Lobster Nebula see M17.” If you do a Word Search on lobster, however, the articles list includes the title “Crustacean—Lobsters.” You can easily switch back and forth between Word Search and List of Contents A-Z by using the “Go to” buttons.

Click here for basic information on doing a word search.


Doing a Word Search and Viewing Results

Type in the word or words and click “Search” (or hit “Enter” on your keyboard). You can use any combination of capital or lowercase letters because the search ignores case. Word Search automatically looks in every type of content: articles, tables, pictures, atlas maps, timeline, movies, sounds, Web links, and updates. The numbers tell how many items of each type were found (up to 200 in each list). The articles list is the first list displayed. This list also includes section titles so you can go directly to the relevant section of a long article. To see another list, click on another type of content. To print search results, click the gold arrow at the upper left and select “Print Search Results.”

Double-click on an item in a list to open it. Items near the top usually have the most information on the word or words. When you open an article, the word or words are highlighted to help you find the relevant information quickly. You can also select “Find Search Item” from the article menu to jump to relevant information. If you want to start a new search on a word or words from the article, simply select the word(s) and choose “Copy Text to Find” from the article menu. Word Search will appear with the word(s) in the search box.

Word Search keeps track of your previous search topics. To see a list, click on the arrow to the right of the search box. To redo a search, select an item from the list and hit “Search.”

Click here for information on exact matches.

Click here for information on basic word search operators.

Click here for information on advanced word search operators.

Click here for information on using the Web Link Directory Search.


Using Quotation Marks for Exact Matches

To get an exact match, use quotation marks. If you want information on the Great Barrier Reef, for example, entering “Great Barrier Reef” in quotation marks will give you lists of only those items that include the phrase Great Barrier Reef. Entering Great Barrier Reef without quotation marks will give you lists of items that mention the words Great and Barrier and Reef, but not necessarily the phrase Great Barrier Reef. When you use quotation marks, you may get shorter lists of items, but those items are more likely to have the specific information you want.

Click here for information on basic word search operators.

Click here for information on advanced word search operators.


Using Basic Word Search Operators

Operators are words or symbols that help you make your search more specific. The most commonly used ones are and, or, not, and adj. You can insert an operator yourself, or you can select one of the basic operators from the menu and Word Search will add it automatically. To insert an operator yourself, include it in the search phrase in the first box. To find items mentioning dogs and cats, for example, you would enter dogs and cats in the first box. To have Word Search add the operator, you would enter dogs in the first box, select and from the menu, and enter cats in the second box.

When you enter words in the first box, Word Search automatically treats each space as if you entered and, unless you enter a different operator. For example, if you enter North America, Word Search will look for all items that mention North and America. The results will be as if you entered North and America.

and

Use and  to narrow your results to items that mention every word you enter. Suppose you want information on art in Mexico. You do not want information on art in other places or on other topics relating to Mexico. By entering Mexico and art, you can narrow your results to just items with information about Mexican art.

or

Use or to widen your results to include any item that mentions at least one of the words. Suppose you are doing a report on cactus plants and want to include information on the desert environment. Entering cactus or desert gives you many more items than cactus and desert, including more items with general information about the desert.

not

Use not to narrow your results to avoid items that mention a certain word. For example, suppose you want information on bats—the animals, not baseball bats. If you enter bat not baseball, the article search results will show only articles or sections of articles that include bat but not baseball. Your results will be more relevant than if you had just entered bat. Using not is useful if you are looking for a word that has several very different meanings, and you only want one meaning. Use it also when you have already researched one part of a topic and are moving on to another part. For example, if you are doing a report on pollution and you have already researched acid rain, you could enter pollution not acid rain.

adj

Use adj to narrow your results to items in which the second word immediately follows the first word. (Adj stands for “adjacent.”) To look up information on humpback whales, for example, you could enter humpback adj whale. Entering a comma, apostrophe, hyphen, or period between the words—as in humpback,whale—will get the same results. Using quotation marks—“humpback whale”--gets similar results.

Click here for information on advanced word search operators.

Click here for information on using combinations of operators.


Using Advanced Word Search Operators

Operators are words or symbols that help make your search more specific. In addition to using the most common operators--and, or, not, and adj—you might use the following.

near/ [number]

Use near/ to narrow your results to items that mention the words within a certain range of each other. After the slash enter a number to tell how close the words should be to each other. Suppose you want information about stars, but you are mainly interested in constellation stars. You might enter star near/10 constellation to get a list of only items where star occurs within 10 words of constellation. You can use any number between 1 and 9999.

?

Use a question mark as a wildcard for any single letter. For example, if you enter d?g  Word Search looks for any three-letter words that start with d and end with g. You can use more than one question mark. For example, if you enter d??g Word Search looks for any four-letter words that start with d and end with g. The question mark(s) can go at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. Using the ? operator can be useful when you are not sure how to spell a word.

*

Use an asterisk as a wildcard for any string of letters. For example, if you enter medic* Word Search finds items that include words like medics, medicine, and medication.

~

Use the ~ symbol (tilde) as a “fuzzy search” operator to look for words with spellings similar to the word entered. Word Search finds all words containing the letters that precede the ~ symbol. The ~ symbol is useful if you are not sure how to spell a word. For example, if you enter dach~hound  Word Search finds words that begin with dach, including the correct spelling of the word dachshund.

Click here for information on basic word search operators.

Click here for information on using combinations of operators.


Using Combinations of Word Search Operators

Operators can be used in combinations. Here are some examples:

“North America” not “South America”

The search is for items that include the phrase North America but not the phrase South America.

football or soccer not rugby

The search is for items that include either football or soccer but not rugby.

“gray whale” or ”humpback whale” or “blue whale”

The search is for items that include any of these phrases: blue whale, humpback whale, gray whale.

“gray whale” or ”humpback whale” or “blue whale”

The search is for items that include any of these phrases: blue whale, humpback whale, gray whale.

Click here for information on basic word search operators.

Click here for information on advanced word search operators.


Using the Web Link Directory Search

When you select Web Link Directory from the Online menu, the Web Link Directory Search automatically opens. Enter a search query the same way as in the regular Word Search. The regular Word Search will also search for Web links, but the Web Link Directory Search sorts and counts results by age range. Select an appropriate range to view the titles of Web sites specially selected for that age group. Double-click on a title to see a brief description of the site. Then click on the underlined title if you want to go to the site.

You can close the Web Link Directory Search window by clicking the Close button in the upper right corner of the window. To reopen the window, go to the Menu arrow and select Search.

You can also browse the Web Link Directory by selecting from the general categories listed on the left. Click on a broad category that interests you and then continue choosing more specific topics.

Click here for information on basic word search operators.

Click here for information on using advanced word search operators.