Use the AND connector to find words that are far apart from one another or in different sections. Searches using AND usually find more documents than searches using the W/n connector. As a general rule, use AND when it doesn't matter where your search words appear in a document. Use the W/n connector when there is a connection between your search terms and you need to find the terms near each other.

If your search terms are fairly unique, the AND connector can find documents that are related to your research. Using the AND connector can also help you get started on your research, until you begin to find more specific concepts and terms for your search. For example, if you would like information about election and opinion polls, you could use this search:

election AND opinion poll

However, to find documents that are relevant when your search terms are less specific, you may need to use the W/n connector. For example, the following search will find more relevant documents than if the AND connector were used:

advertising W/2 campaign

Instead, use the W/n or W/s connector, such as:

sullivan W/5 sullivan

sullivan W/s sullivan

Finding Phrases Containing the Word "and"

If you're searching for a phrase that contains the word "and," omit the word "and" from your search request and use W/1 as a connector. Otherwise, "and" is interpreted as a connector instead of a literal word. For example, if you're looking for "profit and loss" statements, your search request should be:

"profit w/1 loss"

Using the W/1 connector ensures that the words "profit" and "loss" appear near each other in the document.

Because abstracts are usually short, the AND connector is a good choice when searching for multiple terms. The following search in an abstract file finds a large number of documents, but the chances of document relevancy are great:

satellite AND launch!