Let's deal first with how to match different forms of the same word, e.g. deport and deportation. One solution is to include all the alternative forms of the word in the search term. But there may be many of these, e.g. deportation, deport, deportee, deported, deporting.

A more efficient technique is to shorten (truncate) the key word to its stem. The stem is the part of the word that all the different forms have in common. In the above example, the stem is 'deport'.

Key words are commonly truncated by placing an asterisk after the chosen stem, e.g. deport*. Any word which starts with 'deport' will then be matched. An asterisk may also be placed before the stem when appropriate, for example, *solution. This would match with solution, resolution, dissolution, etc.

QUESTION: Suppose you are researching the law of forgery, and want to find references to forgery, forging, forgeries, etc. Which of the following truncations would be most appropriate? Click on your choice for feedback.