When using the Boolean operator OR, you tell the computer to locate documents that contain any one of your search terms. Using OR in your keyword search includes all the pages that contain ANY one of your search words. Think of it this way: IF I ride with my mom OR IF I ride with my brother, THEN I will have a ride to the party. Either way, you would get to the party, right? (It is best to capitalize Boolean operators because some search engines require it.)

Here's an example:

meteor OR asteroid

You need to put one space before and after the word OR.

Here's a fun jingle to help you remember:

OR finds mORe, but
AND gets less.
Learn these now
For greater access.

Turn on Rockwell Schrock's Boolean Machine to better understand the concept of using OR. Roll your cursor over AND, OR, and NOT and watch what happens to the picture.

These two search statements will help you find documents that contain either of the words, meteor OR asteroid.

Let's try this search with NC WiseOwl. Quick tip: Print these directions before you link to the site.

(If you are asked for a password, type: wiseowl.)

1. Click ENCYCLOPEDIAS on the NC WiseOwl home page.
2. Click the OPEN button underneath Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.
3. Find the search box, and then click on the button labeled ADVANCED. You're going to do an advanced search using Boolean logic!
4. Make sure FULL TEXT SEARCH is selected. You want to search through entire articles, not the "article titles only."
5. Type or paste meteor in the first search box.
6. Select OR from the drop menu, then type asteroid in the search box to the right of OR.
7. How many "hits" did you get? ____
8. Skim the list of titles until you see one that sounds interesting to read.
9. Return to the Advanced Search Window and try the same search, except use AND instead of OR. (See steps 5 and 6.)
10. How many "hits" did you get?_____ What a change! Did OR get more? Yes!