{
  "altLabels": [
    "Boolean Search"
  ],
  "definition": "A retrieval method in which queries are expressed as Boolean combinations of terms or conditions and matching items satisfy the Boolean expression.",
  "distinctions": [
    {
      "reason": "Exact match is a matching constraint; Boolean retrieval is a query model using Boolean operators over terms or conditions.",
      "statement": "Boolean Retrieval is not Exact Match.",
      "target": "exact-match",
      "targetLabel": "Exact Match",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/exact-match/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Boolean retrieval uses logical query expressions; keyword search is a broader practitioner-facing search style.",
      "statement": "Boolean Retrieval is not Keyword Search.",
      "target": "keyword-search",
      "targetLabel": "Keyword Search",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/keyword-search/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Boolean retrieval is based on satisfying logical conditions; ranking orders results by estimated relevance or utility.",
      "statement": "Boolean Retrieval is not Ranking.",
      "target": "ranking",
      "targetLabel": "Ranking",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/ranking/"
    }
  ],
  "id": "boolean-retrieval",
  "kind": "Method",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "links": [
    {
      "label": "Boolean retrieval",
      "type": "canonicalSurvey",
      "url": "https://nlp.stanford.edu/IR-book/html/htmledition/boolean-retrieval-1.html"
    }
  ],
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-14T06:43:46Z",
  "prefLabel": "Boolean Retrieval",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "note": "Exact match is a matching constraint; Boolean retrieval is a query model using Boolean operators over terms or conditions.",
      "target": "exact-match",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Boolean retrieval uses logical query expressions; keyword search is a broader practitioner-facing search style.",
      "target": "keyword-search",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Boolean retrieval is based on satisfying logical conditions; ranking orders results by estimated relevance or utility.",
      "target": "ranking",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "exact-match",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "inverted-index",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "keyword-search",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "lexical-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "retrieval",
      "type": "usedFor"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/boolean-retrieval/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/boolean-retrieval.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/boolean-retrieval.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "Boolean retrieval returns matches according to logical conditions rather than necessarily producing a relevance-ranked list. It is distinct from keyword search, exact match, and ranked lexical retrieval, although systems may combine these ideas.",
  "status": "published",
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/boolean-retrieval/"
}