| SEARCH TIPS |
EXAMPLES |
| Case |
Search terms are not case-sensitive. All alphabetic characters in the search expression are converted to lower case before the search is performed. This includes Boolean operators; they are capitalized on this page for clarity only.
|
centers for disease control
|
| Multiple Words |
When searching multiple words, the
system will automatically supply the Boolean "AND" operator between
each word; the words entered will all occur somewhere in the records retrieved, though not necessarily in the order entered. Both examples on the right will retrieve the same results. |
World Health Organization
world AND health AND organization |
| Phrase Searches |
Search for complete phrases by enclosing them in quotation marks. Words enclosed in double quotes will appear together in all results exactly as typed. |
"world health organization" |
| Wildcard Characters |
| ? for 1 character |
You may use a question mark (?) to replace a
single character anywhere within a word. |
wom?n |
| * for 1-5 characters |
The asterisk (*) matches up to five non-space characters, starting at the specified position in the word. For example, "inter*" will match "internal" and "internet", but will not match "international". The * wildcard may only appear after at least two characters.
The * wildcard may also be embedded in a search string. For example, "orthop*dic" would match both "orthopedic" and "orthopaedic".
|
environment* polic*
|
| ** for any number of characters |
Matches any number of non-space characters, starting at the specified position in the word. For example, "inter**" will match all words that begin with "inter" (e.g., "internal", "internet", "international", etc.).
The ** wildcard may also be embedded in a search string. |
comp** |
| Boolean Operators |
| AND, OR, NOT |
Use AND or OR to specify multiple words
in any field, in any order. Use NOT to exclude words.
These operators may be entered in either uppercase, lowercase, or mixed case (e.g., "NOT," "not," and "Not" are equivalent). |
stocks AND bonds
stocks or bonds
stocks Not bonds |
| Grouping Search Terms |
Use parentheses to construct complex searches. |
(annotated bibliography) AND child*
(alaska or canada) AND (adventure not vacation) |
| Proximity Operators |
The NEAR operator is used to retrieve records that contain the specified words or phrases within ten words of each other in the same indexed field.
The WITHIN operator is similar to the NEAR operator, but allows the user to specify the maximum number of words that may appear between the specified words or phrases. WITHIN 10 and NEAR are equivalent.
The BEFORE and AFTER operators are used to retrieve records that contain the specified words or phrases in a particular order. Any number of words can separate the two terms.
|
international NEAR conference
fractal WITHIN 3 geometry
patient BEFORE safety |
| Field Limits |
| |
Field limits may be specified by typing a field limit operator before the word or phrase to be searched. A field limit causes the system to search only the specified field for the specified word(s). The following field limits are supported:
| Field Limit |
Meaning |
| a: |
Search only author fields |
| t: |
Search only title fields |
| d: |
Search only subject fields |
| n: |
Search only note fields |
|
(a:twain) AND (t:huck*)
(a:united AND a:states) AND (d:handicapped OR d:disabled) |
