Reference Sight - Searching For References

Searching For References

Search for references using either the general or advanced search methods.

Access the general search method by entering a search word or phrase in the text box at the top of the search page. Using this method, the search engine will search all fields (reference, title, author, keyword, year and abstract) for the word or phrase you have entered.

Access the advanced search form by clicking the button at the top of the page. This method allows you to enter a specific word or phrase in a particular field.

Search Logic

As with all search engines, it is important to know how the text you enter into the search fields is interpreted by the search engine. By default, the search engine uses "like" logic. That is, if you enter the words "corneal stain" in a search box the search will find all references containing the phrase "corneal stain," but will also list articles containing the phrase "corneal staining." This is particularly useful if you are missing some of the details of your search; for example, if you know an author's surname but not his or her initials.

Default Phrase Notation

If you enter multiple words in the search box, the search engine will assume that you wish to search for documents that contain those words as they appear the way you entered them. For example, entering "corneal staining" will produce a list of documents that contain those two words grouped together. You may, however, wish to use the "AND" operator if you wish to list documents that contain both the words "corneal" and "staining," but not necessarily grouped together.

"AND"

If you wish to list documents that contain multiple phrases, use the "AND" operator.

e.g. corneal AND staining

or corneal & staining

This type of search is particularly useful in the general search box, if you wish to search for an article by a particular author on a particular subject.

"OR"

Using the "OR" operator asks the search engine to list documents that contain either the phrase before the operator, the phrase after the operator, or both.

e.g. corneal staining OR tear film

Range

The dash character can be used to search for numeric values between two values. With the following example, the search engine would list all referenced documents published in the years 1995,1996 and 1997)

e.g. 1995-1997

Precedence

The search engine executes the AND operator first and the OR operator second, for cases in which both methods are combined in a single search.

e.g. corneal staining OR hydrogel AND tear film

<- Back