It's a good idea to look at the Help or Search Tips feature in each database you use to see what characters and symbols they suggest for boolean operators, truncation, wildcard, and proximity options. It may vary slightly between databases.
Use ALL CAPS when using AND, OR, NOT to broaden or narrow your search.
Examples:
Brahms AND cello
violoncello OR cello
Adams NOT president
You can also 'nest' terms by placing them in parentheses:
Brahms AND (violoncello OR cello)
Wildcards are often represented by the question mark ? or the pound sign #.
? = unknown letter
# = alternate spelling
Examples:
Analysis
Analyses
Search suggestion: analys?s
Color
Colour
Search suggestion: colo#r
Try adding ty:fla to your search string. It's a good way to omit the reviews that tend to show up when searching for music. It means type: full length article.
Sample search:
"chichester psalms" ty:fla
More JSTOR search tips
The asterisk symbol * is often used to take into account various endings of words. Start with the root of the word and then add the * at the end.
Analysis
Analyses
Analyze
Analyse
Analytical
Search suggestion: analy*
Hypermeter
Hypermetre
Hypermetric
Hypermetrical
Hypermetriques
Search suggestion: hypermet*
Common proximity terms
NEAR: finds two words in any order within the range you specify
WITH: finds two words in the exact order within the range you specify
Examples:
Brahms N5 hypermeter
This means you want to find the terms Brahms and hypermeter within 5 words of each other in any order.
Brahms W5 hypermeter
This means you want to find the terms Brahms and hypermeter within 5 words of each in that exact word order.
Be sure to check the Search Tips in the database you choose. You may need to use N/5 or W/5.
Often the Advanced Search box will have this as as an option in a drop-down menu next to the search box.