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.

Screenshot of only two fields filled in

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:
    1. NOT
    2. AND
    3. 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.

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