Advanced Search (Alternate)

The ADVANCED SEARCH screen can be accessed from the BASIC SEARCH screen or from the Search menu.  It allows you to do more complex searches using up to 4 different search terms and Indexes.  It also allows you to limit the search by a number of criteria.  This screen can also be used as a basic search screen using just one search term and one index and without any limiting criteria.  The procedures for a basic search are explained in the Simple Search topic. 

 

Boolean Searching:

·                To do a boolean search, enter search terms in at least two of the Search Term fields, select an Index type for each search term, select an Operator (AND, OR, NOT), then click on the OK button OR you can press the ENTER key to start the search providing the cursor is in a Search Term field.

·                If there is more than one word entered in the first Search Term field, the system uses an implicit AND between each word.  For the other Search Term fields, it depends on whether AND or OR is selected.  If OR is selected, then the system treats all words in those Search Term fields with an implicit OR between them.

·                For example, if you wanted to retrieve all records with a Title of "computer" or "software" written by an Author of "Reynolds" you would enter "computer" in the first Search Term box, select "Title" as the Index and OR as the Operator on that line;  enter "software" in the second Search Term box, select "Title" as the Index and AND as the Operator on that line;  and enter "Reynolds" in the third Search Term box and select "Author" as the Index.

·                Any of the Search Term fields can be left blank and you do not have to use the first Search Term field.  For example, you can just use the 3^rd Search Term field if it has the Search Index displayed that you want to use.

·                If activated, you may also be able to select the Sorting Preferences on this screen.

Limit By options:

·                Any one or all of the Limit By options can be selected for a search.  If these options are not visible on your screen it means your Library has disabled them.

·                SERVICE POINT (OR LIBRARY)if you wish to restrict the search results to titles that have holdings at a Service Point/Library (usually setup as a group of Branches), select that Service Point/Library from the dropdown box at the top of the screen. 

·                LOCATION:  A single Branch or multiple Branches can be selected (via Ctrl+click or Shift+click) if you wish to limit the search to holdings at those particular Branches. 

·                PUBLICATION YEAR  -  if you wish to restrict the search results to titles published within a specific time period, enter the years in the From and Through To fields.  Either the "From" field or the "Through To" field can be left blank to include records from the beginning, or to the end.

·                COLLECTION  -  if you wish to restrict the search results to titles belonging to a specific Collection (e.g. Adult Fiction, Adult non-Fiction, Junior Fiction) select it from the Limit by Collection Type dropdown box.  The default selection is "All Collections". 

·                MATERIAL TYPE  -  if you wish to restrict the search results to titles of a specific material type (e.g. Book, Video, Compact Disc) select it from the Limit by Material Type dropdown box.  The default selection is "All Materials". 

·                LANGUAGE  -  if you wish to restrict the search results to titles published in a specific language, select it from the Limit by Language dropdown box.  The default selection is All Languages.

·                SPECIAL COLLECTIONS:  Your library may have setup special Collections based on specified data within bibliographic records.   These will normally be based on criteria that is not normally available via any of the standard Search Indexes.

Broadening your Search Term:

·                With "normal" searches you need to enter a full word or word/s, e.g. "computer" and the search will take place on just that term.  If however you want to broaden the search you can enter an asterisk * at the end of any ONE word IN THE FIRST SEARCH FIELD ONLY.  For example, if you entered "comp*" as the search term, the search would include all words starting with "comp" such as computer, computerisation, computers, complete, compilation, etc.  If entering multiple words in the first search term field, the asterisk * works on ONE WORD ONLY but this word can be in any position in the first search term field.  If you enter multiple asterisks in a search term string in the first search term field, it is likely that no records will be retrieved.    You should not enter asterisks in any search term field other than the first one, as they will not be taken into account.

Closest Matching Terms for unsuccessful searches:

·                If your search does not find any hits, the Browse Index screen will be displayed with (where possible) closest matching terms.  If you wish, you can then click on one of these closest matching terms to view the Titles tied to those terms.