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Truncation and Wild Card Characters

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Many databases available through ALADIN use special characters to allow truncation, stemming, or wild card characters. This table gives a quick overview of the characters used in specific databases. For further information, consult the help pages within the database or contact the Reference Desk at 202 994 6048 or online through the Ask A Librarian service.

Database or Platform End of Word Internal Truncation or Wild Card Character
WRLC Catalog ?  
Cambridge Scientific Abstract Databases * * multiple characters
? single characters
EBSCOhost Databases * ? single characters
FirstSearch Databases + (simple plural s or es only)
* multiple characters (limit of 50 index entries)		  
Gale Literary Databases * ? (cannot use this character if default sorting is by relevance)
JSTOR + (simple plurals s or es only)
Use OR , e.g., develop or development or developing		  
LexisNexis ! (not used for internal truncation) * (one character)
OVID Databases $ (unlimited characters)
$x (up to x number of characters)
# (single character required; may be used multiple times)
? (single character optional; may be used multiple times)		 $ (unlimited characters)
$x (up to x number of characters)
# (single character required; may be used multiple times)
? (single character optional; may be used multiple times)
ProQuest Databases * unlimited characters
? single character 		? single character
RLG Databases ?  
SilverPlatter Databases * (zero to unlimited characters)? (zero to one characters) * (zero to unlimited characters)? (zero to one characters)
World News Connection ? ? single character


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