Try different Libraries.
The Encyclopedias in the two Britannica Libraries contain different information and yield different Search results. If you don't find the results you need, try selecting another Library from the top of the Workspace. More about the Libraries...
You can use uppercase or lowercase letters.
Type your search words in uppercase or lowercaseùit doesn't matter. Changing the case of the letters in your query does not affect the search results. For example, the word aids gives you the same results AIDS.
Try Advanced Search.
Advanced Search offers easy-to-use tools for focusing your search results.
Hyphenated terms must be enclosed in quotation marks.
In the standard Search mode, only use hyphens for words that are always hyphenated, and remember that hyphens not enclosed in quotation marks will be interpreted as minus signs (equivalent to the NOT Boolean operator) in the standard Search mode. For example, to search for Epstein-Barr, type Epstein"-"Barr in the Search entry box. Other punctuation marks are not valid and will not affect search results.
Avoid punctuation except when required by spelling.
Punctuation is generally ignored; however, the marks that have meaning are quotation marks (interpreted as an exact-match search), parentheses (interpreted as an advanced Boolean search), and hyphens/minus signs (equivalent to the NOT Boolean operator).
The search ignores common words.
Words such as "is" and "the" are ignored when entered in the Search entry box. Consult the list of Stopwords to see which words will be ignored.
Try British spellings.
Encyclopµdia Britannica is of British origin, and many of the articles use British spellings. If your search term has both an American and a British spelling, you may receive a greater number of results by using the British spelling. Check the list of American/British Spellings.
Use concise search terms.
Phrase your query as exactly as you can. If you don't get results you like, think of synonyms for your search termsùuse the thesaurus!
china is not as specific as porcelain
conflict might be better understood as war
Use abbreviations when appropriate.
Searching for abbreviations that are used in the Britannica Libraries helps you pinpoint information. To view and understand the abbreviations used in encyclopedia articles, check the Abbreviations list.