Search Engine Math  (probably the easiest!)

1.  Be very specific.  Use windows 98 bugs not windows 98 if you want info on bugs in the Windows 98 system.

2.  Use + sign to add.  For example, windows +98 +bugs.  You will only get results with all three words on one page.

3.  Use - sign to remove info you don't want.  For example, clinton -lewinsky to get rid of the Monica scandal info.

4.  Use quotation marks to initiate a phrase search.  For example, "windows 98 bugs" will only give you pages where all three words appear in exactly that order.

5.  Combine symbols.  For example, to get info about the original Star Trek series, without all the recent Star Trek stuff, you could use "star trek" -voyager -"deep space nine" -"next generation" .   Be creative!
 

Boolean Searching

1.  OR  - (match any) allows any of the specific terms to be present in the results.  Example:  eire OR ireland .

2.  AND - (match all) requires that all search terms be present in the results.  Example: clinton AND lewinsky .

3.  NOT - excludes unwanted info from the results.  Example:  clinton NOT lewinsky .

4.  NEAR - requires terms to be close to each other, not merely on the same page.  Example:  moon NEAR river .

5.  Nesting ( ) - allows you to build complex queries.   Nest queries using parenthesis like this:
    impeachment AND (clinton OR johnson) .

Remember, not all search engines support Boolean searching, and some may process queries differently from others (especially the nesting command).  Some search engines may only offer Boolean searches from the advanced search pages.