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Searching the Chickasaw Nation Law Library Catalog: Expanding a Search

Not Enough Results

When facing too few search results, there are many strategies you can use to widen your search.

  • Change your search terms. Use broader or more general language.
  • Check your spelling. Unlike some databases and search engines, the catalog will not suggest alternate spellings.

Finding Synonyms

Legal dictionaries and thesauruses aren't just tools for paper writing. Several words can describe the same subject, so consider possible synonyms to improve and expand searches. 

Keyword Searching

In both Basic and Advanced Searches keyword searching is the default. When a keyword search is performed title, author, subject, table of contents, publisher, description, and notes of each record in the catalog are searched for matches. Because of this wide search range, keyword searching is the most flexible option. 

Special Characters

Use the special character ? to look for variations on truncated words. For example, a keyword search for "child? rights" will find results with child, children, child's, and children's:

 

Searching for "child rights" has fewer results than searching for "child? rights"

A search for "child rights" has fewer results than "child? rights."

 

Use the special character % to replace characters within a word. For example, a search for tri%%s will find results with tribes and trials:

 

Special Characters can be useful in finding alternate spellings. Col?r will find color and colour. Reali%e will find realize and realise.

 

Boolean Operator OR

In advanced searching, the Boolean operator OR can be used to search for items that include term 1, items that include term 2, and items that include both term 1 and term 2.