How do I use the advanced search?
Last updated on March 05, 2024
How do I use the advanced search?
Last updated on March 05, 2024
The advanced search form offers an open design which allows you to specify one or more pieces of information to find related documents in ScienceDirect. You can easily build an explicit query using multiple Boolean operators and nested clauses in your search.
Search tip: None of the available fields are mandatory to an advanced search query. You are simply required to complete at least one field with searchable information.
You can search specific parts (fields) of a document or search the entire document in ScienceDirect.
Field
|
Explanation
|
Find articles with these terms
|
ScienceDirect will search all parts of the document for instances of the term (excluding references).
|
In this journal or book title
|
Begin keying the journal or book title, ScienceDirect will display a list of suggested title to choose.
Notes:
- Select the auto-suggestion to restrict the search to that specific publication.
- Enter a term in the field to search all publications that contain the term in the title, e.g., Enter Lancet to search all publications where Lancet appears in the title.
|
Years
|
ScienceDirect will search for documents of the entered year or year range.
- All years must be four-digits, as 1975 or 1985-2018
|
Author(s)
|
ScienceDirect will search only the author segments of the document for the author name(s).
|
Author affiliation
|
ScienceDirect will search the author affiliation segment of the document for instances of the terms.
|
Volume(s)/Issue(s)/Page(s)
|
- In the Volume and Issue field, enter numeric values only
- Use a hyphen to search for a range, as 1-35
- You can use the Page(s) field to search for article numbers as well
- When using page numbers, only use the first or last page number, or define the whole range
|
Title, abstract, or author-specified keywords
|
ScienceDirect will search only these segments of the document for instances of the terms. (Select 'Show more fields' to display this field)
|
Title
|
ScienceDirect will search for documents which contain the terms in the document title. (Select 'Show more fields' to display this field)
|
References
|
ScienceDirect will search the bibliographic references cited at the end of the document. (Select 'Show more fields' to display this field)
|
ISBN or ISSN
|
ScienceDirect will search only these segments of the document. (Select 'Show more fields' to display this field)
|
Select a topic below to learn how to further specify your advanced search, or view this FAQ to learn more about the techniques ScienceDirect uses to improve search results.
- Boolean operators and phrase search
- Boolean operators currently supported include AND, OR, NOT, and the hyphen (or minus symbol)
- Boolean operators must be entered in all uppercase
- The hyphen (or minus symbol) is interpreted as the NOT operator
- Example: black -hole will return results containing 'black', but exclude any instances where 'hole' appears with it.
- Boolean precedence is as follows:
- NOT
- AND
- OR
- Parentheses can be used when nesting clauses so the grouping is clear and unambiguous
- Example: Instead of searching a OR b AND c OR d
Please use (a OR b) AND (c OR d)
- Quotation marks can be used to specify terms which must appear next to each other
- Example:("heart attack" OR "myocardial infarction") AND diabetes AND NOT cancer
- The above example can be expressed more concisely as: ("heart attack" OR "myocardial infarction") diabetes -cancer
Rules
- Punctuation is ignored in a phrase search. The searches "heart-attack" and "heart attack" return the same results.
- Plurals and spelling variants are included: "heart attack" includes "heart attacks", "color code" includes "colour code"
- Searching special characters and formulas
ScienceDirect supports the UTF-8 character set, meaning you can enter all UTF-8 characters directly in the search form, including non-Roman and accented characters.
View the tips in the table below to see how to search for special characters:
Character
|
Example
|
Spelling variations
|
Both British and American spelling variants are supported. A search for colour returns color, and vice versa
|
Greek letters and character equivalents
|
To search the Greek letter Ω, enter omega. This matches documents containing the word omega as well as the symbols Ω (uppercase omega) and ω (lowercase omega).
|
Subscript and superscript
|
Enter subscripted and superscripted characters on the same line as the other characters. To search for the chemical notation "H2O," enter H2O.
|
Accented characters
|
To search for the name Fürst, enter Fürst or Furst.
|
Non-alphanumeric characters
|
Characters such as bullets, arrows, daggers, and plus signs are ignored.
|
- Stop words
The following words are identified as stop words and are not searchable:
about
again
all
almost
also
although
always
am
among
an
and
another
any
are
as
at
be
because
been
before
being
between
both
but
|
by
can
could
did
do
does
done
due
during
each
either
enough
especially
etc
ever
for
found
from
further
had
hardly
has
have
having
|
hence
her
here
him
his
how
however
if
in
into
is
it
its
itself
just
made
mainly
make
might
most
mostly
must
nearly
neither
|
obtained
of
often
on
onto
or
our
overall
perhaps
quite
rather
really
regarding
said
seem
seen
several
she
should
show
showed
shown
shows
significantly
|
since
so
some
such
than
that
the
their
theirs
them
then
there
thereby
therefore
these
they
this
those
through
thus
to
too
upon
use
|
used
using
various
very
viz
was
we
were
what
when
where
whereby
wherein
whether
which
while
whom
whose
why
with
within
without
would
you
|
- Proximity operators are not supported
Proximity operators are not supported on ScienceDirect. ScienceDirect's advanced search feature is designed with a focus on semantic search capabilities. Semantic search technology allows ScienceDirect to analyze the context of a user's query, understand the relationships between terms, and provide more accurate and relevant search results without the need for explicit syntax or proximity operators. This approach helps streamline the search process and make it more intuitive for users across different levels of expertise.
After completing your search, you can use the filters available on the Search results page to refine your results by:
- Subscribed journals
- Article type
- Subject areas
- Publication title
- Access Type
- Years
Learn more about the available filters on the Search results page FAQ.
Was this answer helpful?
Thank you for your feedback, it will help us serve you better.
If you require assistance, please scroll down and use one of the contact options to get in touch.
Opens new window
Download file
Opens an image