(Re)Search

(Re)Search is a six part series by Bree Windham, a current graduate student in dramaturgy. It details her experiences as a young dramaturg navigating different resources and the ways she has come utilize them through trial, error, and advice from others. Find the full series here.

One of the most mind-blowing pieces of information I ever learned as an undergrad was during a tour of my school’s library. The theater librarian gave my class a lecture on how to search for things. My initial reaction was “Thank you, but I’m not new to this Internet game.” And then she started talking about Boolean phrases. This word was new. Maybe I didn’t have as firm a grasp of the Internet as I thought. So with rapt attention I listened and the information I learned changed the way I search for things and has been a great help when I need to find things on the fly for a director or during rehearsal.

The technical term for this vocabulary is a “Boolean search.” Boolean searches really only have three options “AND,” “NOT,” and “OR.” These options are called “logical operators.” For example, if you were trying to find this blog because you forgot the title you might search “HowlRound.” However, that search is not specific enough to help you find this particular page on HowlRound’s website. Boolean searches make your research more specific and can save you time. Using a Boolean search in the example mentioned above your search might look like HowlRound AND Bree Windham or HowlRound AND (Re)Search.

One of the hardest things for me to locate is a phrase by Jane Austen that I loved so much when I first read it.  However, I was so engrossed in the novel I forgot to write it down or mark in my book. The book I own is both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. I can never remember which book it is in. I know what side of the page it is on, I know the gist of the phrase, and I know a few of the words in the phrase. However, I can never seem to just find it. Whenever I feel inclined to test my research skills or I just need to read that phrase, I embark on a Boolean search that more often that not leaves me smiling, reading the phrase again, and again.

The technical term for this vocabulary is a 'Boolean search.' Boolean searches really only have three options 'AND,' 'NOT,

To find this phrase, I go to Google and use the advanced search—I think of it as my “Boolean translator.” As a user, you will still fill out the information like you would in a search engine, but the advanced search gives you options in pull down menus to make your search more specific, and your results better.  Now you might could achieve the same results simply by employing “and, or, not,” but if you don’t know what you need to attach after the logical operator then you should definitely go to Google Advanced search.

You can also use another search engine like Bing, but Bing doesn’t have an advanced search page. They do however have a handy guide on employing Boolean modifiers.

I might type Jane Austen AND Northanger Abbey OR Persuasion AND all have been in danger of.  That is the only part of the phrase I can always remember. While this gets me closer, it won’t yield the phrase I want because every result that is returned will contain the words of the phrase I typed in, but not in the correct word order. However, If I simply put quotation marks around the phrase I type in, I  will get results that only  contain those words in that order. So my new search might look like: “Jane Austen” AND “Northanger Abbey” OR Persuasion AND  “all have been in danger of.”

Unfortunately I’m still not getting any returns on this phrase. It’s about this point in time that I get frustrated. You could try some other Boolean phrases like “Northanger Abbey” NOT Persuasion or simply put a minus sign in front of the phrase  (–Persuasion). But again, for this specific search, nothing is coming back. 

Rather than give up, I try a different way of searching. I change my Google search over to a Google book search. You can find this option under “more” at the top of the page. I then search “Northanger Abbey.” On the left-hand side of the page you’ll see another, smaller search bar. I definitely know that the word “danger” is in it. So that’s all I do. I type in the word danger. Now Google is going to go through the entire book and highlight the phrase “danger” and then pull those segments for me to skim. Lo and behold. There is my favorite quote:

All have been or at least all have believed themselves to be in danger from the pursuit of some one whom they wished to avoid and all have been anxious for the attentions of some one whom they wished to please. —Northanger Abbey

Maybe I want to save it now for future reference? I can do one of two things. I could take a screen shot. I have an Apple computer so I use “Command+ Shift+ 4” and then highlight the phrase. If I had a PC I would just hit the “Print Screen” button. The screenshot is then saved to my desktop. Or I could use Google Books to highlight the phrase and it provides it to me in text format.

Search engines are the maps to online content. If you know the specific web address you don’t need a map. However if you’re not sure where you’re going, you need to stop and ask for directions. Think of Boolean operators as the key at the bottom of the map. Like a compass (or better yet, a GPS navigator) they are going to help you find what you’re looking for faster and more efficiently. Take advantage of image searches, video searches, and book searches. Have you had any similar experiences and discoveries?