Truncation Truncation Information Literacy HSU Library Glossary Truncation allows you to search for a root form of a word and pick up any ending. Remember that computers find the words exactly as you type them. Sometimes words have different spellings, or you may need different forms of the word, such as singular and plural forms and different suffixes. By truncating a word, you will broaden your search and ensure that you retrieve all items containing a form of the word.
Different databases use different symbols to truncate words.
Will only do S, ES, and 'S - simple plurals and possessives. Do not truncate a word too short, or you will retrieve unwanted matches.