· Field Qualification
· Search Operators
· Phrases
· Truncation
· Punctuation
· Stopwords
· Z39.50 Standard
OSearch is built upon the powerful BRS search engine that can handle complex search statements. With these advanced techniques, you can form very precise and efficient searches.
Categories of information within database records are grouped into fields, such as author, article title, journal title, volume, year, subject, abstract. Each field is identified by a 2–4 character label. For the complete list of field labels for your database, consult the Database Descriptions. The most common:
| AU = author | YR = year |
| TI = article title | VO = volume |
| JN = journal title | AB = abstract |
| SU = subject | PG = page |
To restrict your search to words in a particular field, use the label, or qualifier, in the pattern: (searchterm).qualifier.
You can include search operators and additional terms from the same or other fields. You can search any field, and combine terms, qualifiers, and operators for precise searching.
| Typing a search with qualifiers can be faster than using multiple search boxes and dropdown choices | Colman in author and Illiteracy in title: | colman.au. and illiteracy.ti. |
| Search for data elements not prompted on the dropdown menus | articles by author Zamora from the Journal of Pediatrics, volume 131: | zamora.au. and pediatrics.jn. and 131.vo. |
| Use parentheses to search two or more words in the same field | this exact phrase in the title: | (atmospheric nitrogen deposition).ti. |
| Include search operators | articles that have all three words in the abstract: | (serotonin and dopamine and norepinephren).ab. |
| Use comma to search more than one field | articles that have Pfiesteria in title, abstract or subject: | pfiesteria.ti,ab,su. |
A search operator is a word that connects two words or phrases in a search statement to specify the relationship between these terms. Operator Precedence and Nesting.
| ADJ | Finds both words right next to each other, in the same sentence, and in the order given in the search statement. Adjacency is the default search operator in OSearch, so is not necessary to specify. | ||
| AND | Finds records that contain both words, although not necessarily in the same sentence or in the given order. | records with both Landscape and Winter anywhere: | landscape and winter in All Fields |
| OR | Finds records that contain either word or both words. Use OR for synonymous or related terms; this broadens the search. | either Immunization or Vaccine as a subject word: | immunization or vaccine in Subject |
| NOT | Finds records that contain the first word and that do not contain the second word. | Columbus anywhere; eliminates records that also have Christopher: | columbus not christopher in All Fields |
| NEAR | Finds both words right next to each other, in the same sentence, in either order. This is similar to ADJ, although with NEAR, the words may occur in either order. | either John Smith or Smith, John: | smith near john |
| SAME | Finds both words in the same field, such as in the same title or abstract | both Wyeth and Helga in the same field: | wyeth same helga |
| WITH | Finds both words in the same sentence. In OSearch databases, many fields consist of just one sentence, so WITH often produces the same results as SAME. | both Internet and Addiction in the same sentence: | internet with addiction |
| ADJn | Finds both words, in the same sentence, in the order given, where n specifies the maximum number of indexable words from the first to the second. This is similar to ADJ, except that n permits some number of intervening words. | Right followed within one or two words by Work: Right Work, Right to Work |
right adj2 work |
| NEARn | Finds both words, in the same sentence, in either order, where n specifies the maximum number of indexable words from the first to the second. This is similar to NEAR, except that n permits some number of intervening words. | Right (stem) within 1-3 words of Work (stem), in either
order: Workers Rights, Right to Work |
right$ near3 work$ |
| XOR | Finds records that contain either word but not both. |
| NOT ADJ | Finds records that contain the first word but not the second word adjacent to it. The second word may occur in a different field, in a separate sentence, preceding rather than following the first word, or nowhere at all in the record. |
| NOT NEAR | Finds records that contain the first word but not the second word near it. The second word may occur in a different field, in a separate sentence, in the same sentence but not immediately preceding or following the first word, or nowhere at all in the record. |
| NOT SAME | Finds records that contain the first word but do not contain the second word in the same field. |
| NOT WITH |
Finds records that contain the first word but do not contain the second word in the same sentence. |
When more than one operator is used in a search statement, an operator with a high precedence executes before an operator with a lower precedence. The order of precedence, from highest to lowest:
When two operators have equal priority (such as ADJ and NEAR), the system processes the operator that it encounters first.
| welfare reform and ohio | finds Welfare adjacent to Reform first, then restricts that set to records that also have Ohio |
| banks and investment services | finds Investment adjacent to Services first, then restricts that set to records that also have Banks |
Use parentheses to nest (group) search terms and override the precedence rules. To specify which portion of the search statement you want to be executed first, nest that portion in parentheses.
| (information or data) same retrieval | finds records that have either Information or Data, and then restricts that set to records that also have Retrieval in the same field |
Use quotation marks to specify an exact, literal phrase of adjacent words.
| Quotation marks are not necessary to signify adjacency, because OSearch defaults to adjacency. | "charter schools"
same as: charter schools |
| Quotation marks must be used for words that happen to be the same as search operators: AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, SAME, WITH. Use quotation marks to search these words as literal words rather than as an operators. | eye "and" face protection
"same day registration" |
| The quotation marks may enclose the entire phrase or just the word itself. | dealing "with" risk
same as: "dealing with risk" |
| $ | wildcard; any number of continuous characters | myth, myths, mythical, mythology ... | myth$ |
| $n | maximum number – n – of characters that the wildcard can match | theater or theatre, but not theaters, theatrical ... | theat$2 |
| $ | wildcard within a word | oxidation, oxidization, oxidisation: | oxid$tion |
| ? | one and only one character | Quijote, Quixote: | qui?ote |
The main rule for punctuation is to omit punctuation that is part of the word or phrase you're searching.
| Omit commas, periods, and apostrophes; do not insert a space. | St. Louis World's Fair: | st louis worlds fair |
| Omit hyphens, slashs, or parentheses within words; but do substitute a space. | parent-child communication: | parent child communication |
| If a word or number contains two or more periods within it, keep the periods and enclose the phrase in quotation marks. | "www.depaul.edu" |
Remember the punctuation that has meaning to the search statement:
| Periods for field qualifiers | kosovo.ti. |
| Parentheses to nest multiple words with a field qualifier | (garland susan).au. |
| Parentheses to specify operator precedence | african (theater or theatre) |
| Quotation marks if search word is same as operator: And, Or, Not, Near, Same, With | last but "not" least |
| Quotation marks if word includes two or more embedded periods | "www.amazon.com" |
Stopwords are common words that provide no value in retrieval and are not indexed. In OSearch, stopwording is applied only to abstracts and indexer-supplied notes. Omit stopwords only if you are explicitly searching for words in the abstract.
A BY INTO OR TO ABOUT DO IS SAME TOWARD ALL DURING IT SEVERAL UPON AMONG EACH ITS SOME USED AN EITHER MADE SUCH USING AND FOR MAKE THAN WAS ARE FOUND MANY THAT WERE AS FROM MORE THE WHAT AT FURTHER MOST THEIR WHICH BE HAS MUST THESE WHILE BEEN HAVE NO THEY WHO BETWEEN HOWEVER NOT THIS WILL BOTH IF OF THOSE WITH BUY IN ON THROUGH WITHIN
WOULD
All words are indexed in authors, titles, journals, subjects, names of organizations or meetings, etc.
| To search a phrase in All Fields or in any single field other than Abstract, include all words, even insignificant words such as articles and prepositions. | on the job training in All fields
freedom of association in Subject more about phonics in Article Title |
| Remember to use quotation marks for AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, SAME, WITH | "near" eastern archaeology in Journal Title |
| Omit stopwords only when explicitly searching phrases in abstracts. To find Family Man, Family of Man, Family for a Man in abstracts: | family man in Abstract |
The manufacturer of EndNote, ProCite and Reference Manager bibliographic management software advertises an interface that can be used to search remote databases using their software. "Z39.50" is the name of the standard protocol that manages this connection. OSearch databases do not use the Z39.50 protocol and therefore cannot be searched using these software packages.
July 2005