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Search Operators

Search operators AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, and SAME may be used to combine terms in order to broaden or narrow retrieval.

Keep in mind that case does not matter when using search operators. For example, OR, Or, and or returns the same results. We use all uppercase in our examples as a matter of style.

Note: The Korean Journal Database does not include the SAME operator as a search operator.

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This Help page includes information about the following topics.

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Boolean Operators

AND - find records containing all terms separated by the operator.

OR - find records containing any of the terms separated by the operator.

NOT - exclude records containing certain words from your search.

We recommend users search terms in the language of the local interface language they select. For example, if you select the Arabic language, type search terms in Arabic. Your search results may not always be accurate when you combine two different language (e.g., English and Arabic).

For advanced search, you can use field tags, Boolean characters, and wildcards. However, as you type in the advanced search field, the local language dictates how field tags, Boolean characters, wildcards display in the field.

For example, in the Arabic local interface, if you type #1 OR #3 in the advanced search field, the text displays: OR #1 #3 and will return the correct results based on #1 OR #3.

Author and publication source name search aids are always in English regardless of the selected local interface language.

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Proximity Operators

NEAR/x

Use NEAR/x to find records where the terms joined by the operator are within a specified number of words of each other.

Replace the x with a number to specify the maximum number of words that separate the terms.

If you use NEAR without /x, the system will find records where the terms joined by NEAR are within 15 words of each other. For example, these searches are equivalent:

salmon NEAR virus
salmon NEAR/15 virus

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Be aware that ...

You cannot use the AND operator in queries that include the NEAR operator. For example, the following query is not valid:

TS = (Germany NEAR/10 (monetary AND union))

However, the NEAR operator may be used to find a word or phrase within X number of words of a phrase. The following queries are valid:

TS = (Germany NEAR/10 "monetary union")

TS = (Germany NEAR/10 (monetary NEAR/0 union))

NEAR/0 dictates that the words joined by the operator should be adjacent.

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When the Word NEAR Appears in a Title

Always enclose the word NEAR in quotation marks ( " " ) when the word appears in the title of a source item such as a journal, book, proceeding, or other type of work. For example, the following is a valid query.

Atomistic simulations of a solid/liquid interface: a combined force field and first principles approach to the structure and dynamics of acetonitrile "near" an anatase

If you leave out the quotation marks, the system returns an error message that states: "Search Error: Invalid use of NEAR operator"

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SAME

In Address searches, use SAME to restrict your search to terms that appear in the same address within a Full Record. Use parentheses to group your address terms. For example:

AD=(McGill Univ SAME Quebec SAME Canada) finds records in which McGill University appears in the Addresses field of a Full Record along with Quebec and Canada.

AD=(Portland SAME Oregon) finds records in which Portland, Oregon, or OR (state abbreviation) appear in the Addresses field of a record.

Be aware that SAME works exactly like AND when used in other fields (such as Topic and Title fields) and when the terms appear in the same record. For example:

TS=(cat SAME mouse) retrieves the same results as TS=(cat AND mouse).

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Search Operator Precedence

If you use different operators in your search, the search is processed according to this order of precedence:

NEAR/x
SAME
NOT
AND
OR

Use parentheses to override operator precedence. For example:

influenza OR flu AND avian finds records containing the word influenza. It also finds records containing both flu and avian.

(influenza OR flu) AND avian finds records containing both influenza and avian or both flu and avian.

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copper OR lead AND algae finds all records in which both lead AND algae are present as well as all records in which the word copper is present.

(copper OR lead) AND algae finds all records in which the word algae is present together with either copper or lead.

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Use of Parentheses

Use parentheses to override operator precedence. The expression inside the parentheses is executed first.

(cadmium AND gill*) NOT Pisces finds records containing both cadmium and gill (or gills), but excludes records containing the word Pisces.

(salmon OR pike) NEAR/10 virus find records containing salmon or pike within 10 words of virus.

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AND Examples

Beverage AND bottle finds records containing both terms.

Beverage AND bottle AND beer finds records containing all three terms.

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Implied AND Operator

The product uses an implicit AND operator when you enter two or more adjacent terms in most fields.

For example, the title search rainbow trout fish farm is equivalent to rainbow AND trout AND fish AND farm -- both queries return the same number of results.

Note: Implied AND does not apply to Chinese-language search queries.

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OR Example

Beverage OR bottle finds records containing either beverage or bottle (or both).

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NOT Example

Beverage NOT bottle finds records containing beverage but excludes records containing bottle.

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NEAR/x Example

Beverage NEAR/5 bottle finds records containing both beverage and bottle. The two words must be within five words of each other.

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SAME Example

Mineral Resources SAME Beijing finds records containing an author address in which the terms Mineral Resources and Beijing both appear within the Adddress field of a record.

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About SAME and Saved Searches

When you open a search history file created from a previous version of the product, your search may yield more results if you had used the SAME operator in your query. In the current version, the SAME operator works exactly like AND in most fields (such as the Topic and Title fields).

For example, the search query:

TS=Bird Migration SAME TS=South America*

Is automatically translated in the current version of the product into:

TS=Bird Migration AND TS=South America*

and produces a larger set of search results than the original query.

When opening a saved search history file from a previous version of the product, consider revising your query if you had used the SAME operator in the query.

Note: The exception to the rule discussed, here, is the Address field where SAME operator rules still apply.