Final answer:
The Boolean search term that provides the largest number of hits is the OR operator, as it combines search terms and returns results that include any of the terms. AND narrows the search by returning only results with all specified terms, while NOT excludes terms from the search.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Boolean search term that typically provides the largest number of hits for terms is the OR operator. When using OR in a search, it combines search terms so that each result is linked to at least one of the terms. It is particularly useful when you are searching for information that can be identified by several synonyms or when you need to expand the breath of your search results. For example, if you are looking for articles about educational technology, you might enter educational technology OR edtech OR e-learning into the search field. This search will return results that include any of the three terms, greatly increasing the number of potential hits.
Conversely, the AND operator narrows down the search by returning only those results that include all of the specified terms. For instance, a search for educational technology AND classroom will yield only those articles that mention both terms. Lastly, the NOT operator is used to exclude terms from the search, further narrowing down the results. Using our example, a search for educational technology NOT classroom will exclude all results that mention the classroom while including those that discuss educational technology.