Slice like a pro: Using the *asterisk*

Asterisk (Asterix) is more than a wacky French comic character... he's actually a very clever little minx when it comes to building great search strings.

In boolean speak, using an asterisk (sometimes also called a 'wildcard') at the end of a word will ensure you track all variations of how a word ends.

For example, placing an asterisk at the end of the word 'school*', will ensure you receive all news clips containing the words 'school', 'schools', 'schooling', 'schoolies' and 'schooled'.

Ski* will deliver news clips that have the words 'skiers', 'skis', 'skiing', or any other word starting with 'ski' present in the clip.

Reincarnat* will give you 'reincarnate', 'reincarnation', 'reincarnated' and 'reincarnates'.

Paint* will ensure you receive 'paints', 'painted' and 'painting'.

Helen* will return all articles with the word 'Helen', or 'Helens'.

An example of how a search string might include an asterix is:

environment* AND carbon AND (credit* OR trad*)

For more help information, check out the 'Help' link on your toolbar when you login to Slice. You can also download a pdf help file to have as a handy reference when building your search strings.

For other tips on building search strings, check out 'Slice like a pro' category on our blog here.

Tracking the media, monitoring the message