What symbol would you use to add a negative keyword? a. / b. ^ c. + d. –
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The correct answer is d. –.
In many search engines, databases, and search platforms, the minus sign (-) is used to exclude or filter out specific keywords from search results. This is known as a “negative keyword” search operator. By placing a minus sign directly in front of a term, you tell the search engine to exclude any results containing that term. This is particularly helpful when you want to refine your search and avoid irrelevant content.
Explanation:
When conducting a search, you might come across situations where certain terms in the results are not relevant to your needs. Using the negative keyword operator allows you to remove results that contain specific words. For example, if you were searching for information on “apple fruit” but wanted to exclude results about the tech company Apple, you could search for “apple -tech”. This search would show results related to the fruit but exclude those that mention the tech company.
This feature is common in search engines like Google, academic databases, e-commerce platforms, and even job search sites. It helps to refine searches, especially in cases where multiple meanings of a word might generate irrelevant or extraneous information.
Other symbols listed (such as /^/ and +) are typically used in different ways:
- The caret (^) is sometimes used in advanced search techniques for specifying certain ranges or powers in mathematical or coding contexts, but it is not used to exclude terms.
- The plus (+) sign is often used in some search engines to include terms specifically, but it is less commonly used now, as many search engines automatically consider terms included without needing the plus sign.
- The slash (/) is typically used to separate terms, especially in URLs or to denote directories, but it doesn’t function as a search operator in the same way the minus sign does.
Thus, using the minus sign is the most efficient way to add a negative keyword and filter your search results.