Table 6 Common Boolean queries operators and their replacements used for simplifying - finding supersets of - the queries.
From: Boolean versus ranked querying for biomedical systematic reviews
operator | meaning | action |
|---|---|---|
/or .sh. | MeSH heading | remove or replace with .mp. |
$ | truncate (similar to stemming) | unchanged |
limit to x | limit the search to some x conditions (e.g language or publication type) | remove line |
.ed. | entry date | remove line |
adj n | two specific words separated by maximum n words | make them separate terms connected by or |
.mp. | match term with subheadings, title, and abstract | unchanged |
.ti. | match term with title words | replace with .mp. |
.tw. | match term with title or abstract terms | replace with .mp. |
.fs. | match term with floating (two-character) subheadings | replace with .mp. |
and | conjunction | replace with or (not always) |
or | disjunction | unchanged |
exp | explode using MeSH subheadings | unchanged |