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Wildcards

Wildcards represent unknown characters.

  • The asterisk (*) represents any group of characters, including no character.

  • The question mark (?) represents any single character.

  • The dollar sign ($) represents zero or one character.

If you need to use wildcards for Arabic search terms, you must use the Arabic local language version.

We recommend users search terms in the language of the local interface language they select. For example, if you select the Arabic language, type search terms in Arabic. Your search results may not always be accurate when you combine two different language (e.g., English and Arabic).

For advanced search, you can use field tags, Boolean characters, and wildcards. However, as you type in the advanced search field, the local language dictates how field tags, Boolean characters, wildcards display in the field.

For example, in the Arabic local interface, if you type #1 OR #3 in the advanced search field, the text displays: OR #1 #3 and will return the correct results based on #1 OR #3.

Note: Author and publication source name search aids are always in English regardless of the selected local interface language.

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Right-Hand and Internal Truncation

  • At least three characters must precede the wildcard in Title and Topic searches. For example, zeo* is acceptable but ze*  is not.
  • Wildcards may be used inside a word. For example, odo$r finds odor and odour.

  • You may use different wildcards in one term: l?chee$ matches lichee, lichees, lychee, lychees.
  • You cannot use wildcards after special characters (/ @ #) and punctuation (. , : ; !).

  • You cannot use wildcards in a publication year search. For example, 2007 is acceptable but 200* is not.

  • You cannot search on a wildcard if it appears in a word or name. For example, the search TS=E*Trade OR TS="E*Trade" will not return records about the company called E*Trade.

  • Avoid using wildcards in search queries with very broad truncation matches. For example, a search on UT=*2 or UT=*2* or UT=*22 or UT=*22* may return incomplete results (or no results) because there are simply too many matches.

Left-Hand Truncation

  • You can use left-hand truncation in the following search fields in all Web of Science product databases: Topic, Title, and Identifying Codes.

  • In Topic and Title searches, you must enter at least three characters after the wildcard when using left-hand truncation. For example: *bio

  • Left-hand truncation is not supported in Author and Cited Author searches.
  • In Identifying Code searches, you must enter at least one character after the wildcard when using left-hand truncation. For example: *2307

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Wildcards, Hyphens, and Apostrophes

The search engine treats hyphens (-) and apostrophes (') in names as spaces. For example:

AU=O Brien returns the same number of results as AU=O'Brien.

Try searching for names with and without a space. For example, AU=OBrien OR AU=O Brien returns both variants of the name.

When searching for hyphenated query terms, enter the term with and without wildcards. For example:

  • TS=hydro-power returns records that contain the terms hydro-power and hydro power.

  • TS=hydro*power returns records that contain the terms hydropower and hydroelectricpower.

  • TS=hydro power returns records that contain the terms hydro and power anywhere in the record, such as hydro-power, hydro-electrical power, and hydro-mechanical power.

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Useful Tips

  • The dollar sign ($) is useful for finding both the British and American spellings of the same word. For example, flavo$r finds flavor and flavour.

  • The question mark (?) is useful for searching last names of authors where the last character is uncertain. For example, Barthold? finds Bartholdi and Bartholdy. It will not find Barthold.

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Asterisk (*) Examples

s*food matches:
seafood
soyfood

enzym* matches:
enzyme
enzymes
enzymatic
enzymic

Hof*man* matches:
Hofman
Hofmann
Hoffman
Hoffmann

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Question Mark (?) Example

wom?n matches:
woman
women

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Dollar Sign ($) Examples

colo$r matches:
color
colour

grain$ matches:
grain
grains

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Multi-wildcard Example

organi?ation* matches:
organisation
organisations
organisational
organization
organizations
organizational