Research Methods: Stop words

Stop words are frequently occurring, insignificant words that appear in a database record, article or web page.

Common stop words include:

• a
• an
• the
• in
• of
• on
• are
• be
• if
• into
• which

Why should you care about stop words?

• Many databases ignore common words from your search statement.  If included, the database returns far too many results.

• So you know which words to exclude from your search statement.

• To make sure they are included if they are a significant part of your search.

• Many databases recognize common stop words when they are part of the controlled vocabulary of subject headings and descriptors.  Example: balance of payments

• Stop words vary by database. Check the Help screens for a list.

How can you avoid using stop words in your search?

• In some databases, you can use techniques to include stop words as part of the search.

• Some databases use quotes around stop words.  Example: Title keyword= out "of" africa retrieves title: Out of Africa

• Choose the most significant words that describe your topic and connect them together using Boolean operators or proximity operators.

• Search for your terms in specific fields, such as author, title or subject/descriptor.

  If the title of a book starts with A, An, or The, ignore the first word when searching for book titles.

  Ignore foreign language words such as: al, el, l', la, der.

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