Another search technique that you will need is called...

 

Truncation!

Don't worry, it's not dangerous. 

"Truncation" means to cut something off or to make it shorter. 

When we search, we use truncation to help us find more information using a single keyword. 

Here is an example of a truncated keyword: child* If you type in the truncated keyword child*, the computer will find all of the following words: child children childhood childish childlike

Do you see the pattern? 

 

The truncation symbol  * tells the computer to find all possible endings for a particular word root.

When you are searching for information on a topic relating to children, probably many of the above words would be useful in your search.  Rather than doing a separate search for each word you want to find, which can be very time consuming, you can simply use the truncation symbol (*) and ask the computer to search for them all at once.  So, essentially, the truncation symbol saves you time.