This does not apply to ProQuest Product Interface
Performing a Basic Query
Enter the query string
you want to use into the Search entry field. This site supports Boolean
search mode. Boolean queries must be entered using the traditional Boolean
operators (AND, OR, NOT, etc.).
Topics vs. Questions
When entering queries,
keep in mind that our search functionality isn't designed to answer specific questions,
but rather to search for text relevant to a particular topic. If you type
in a question, you won't get a factual response, but rather a number of
documents that may contain answers to the question you asked. Normally,
it's better to query on the topic you're interested in, instead
of asking a question or entering instructions. Topic queries contain fewer
irrelevant words (or "noise") than do questions or instructions; therefore,
they are easier to construct and are processed more quickly. Here are some
examples:
OKAY:
find articles
about molecular physics
BETTER:
molecular
physics
OKAY:
how do I
plant tomatoes?
BETTER: planting
tomatoes
Using Boolean Mode
Boolean queries must
be entered using the traditional Boolean operators, instead of in plain
English. Formulating Boolean queries is more difficult because word order
and syntax can be critical to achieving the desired results, especially
if you use nested statements. Please keep in mind that word expansion and
relevancy ranking are not performed in Boolean mode.
When you enter a query
in the query entry line, use Boolean operators (see below for more information).
The default operator is AND, so that if no operators are entered, AND is
assumed between query terms. Entry of apples
oranges
will produce the same results as entry of apples
and oranges.
Idioms in Boolean queries
are treated as the individual words, rather than as an idiom; for example,
"first hand" is an idiom. But a Boolean query on first
hand simply
looks for "first" and "hand" anywhere in a document. To query on the idiom—with
the words adjacent to each other and in the order given—enter the idiom
in quotes: "first
hand".
Like idioms, stop words
are also handled differently on Boolean queries. Most stop words will be
removed from Boolean queries—however, if the stop word is also a Boolean
operator (AND, OR, BUT, NOT, WITHIN), it will not be removed.
IMPORTANT: Because
Boolean mode treats stop words differently than the other query modes,
ensure that your query does not consist only of stop words. The query may
retrieve the maximum number of documents, even though the query terms are
stop words (e.g., new man, the man, some more, etc.). Ask your System Administrator
for a list of stop words if you are unsure.
Boolean queries are best
at retrieving proper nouns, and words or phrases you know are in the database.
For example, if you were searching only for the name of a company, a person,
or a particular publication, a Boolean query would probably return the
most accurate list of hits the most quickly. However, if you wanted to
find a proper noun along with other search terms that should be expanded,
you could use a Concept or Pattern search, enclosing the proper noun in
double quotes to make it an exact phrase.
Boolean Operators
Queries in Boolean mode
make use of the following Boolean operators and logic:
|
Operator
|
Syntax
|
Description
|
Precedence
|
| (
) |
(word1
| word2) & word3 |
Parentheses
can be used to override the precedence of other operators and can be nested
to any depth. |
1
|
| not,
^ |
not
word1
^word1 |
Word1
must not be found in the document. |
2
|
| and,
&, but |
word1
and word2
word1 & word2
word1 but not word2
word1 word2 |
Both
word1 and word 2 must be found in the document. If no operator is present
between two query terms, and is the default operator. |
3
|
| within |
word1
word2 within N |
Word1
must be found within N words of word2. |
4
|
| adj |
word1
word2 adj N |
Word1
must be found within N words of word2, and word1 must come before word2. |
4
|
| between |
word1
between word2 and word3 |
Word1
must be found between word2 and word3. |
4
|
| or,
| |
word1
or word2
word1 | word2 |
Either
word1 or word 2 must be found in the document. |
5
|
The BUT operator means
the same as the AND operator, and is typically used in conjunction with
NOT ("this BUT NOT that", or "this AND NOT that").
AND/OR: In Boolean
queries, the use of AND is assumed; the use of OR must be stated within
the query. For example, if you enter electronic
communications
as your query, the Query program will search for documents containing both
of those words, and won't return any document that doesn't contain both
words. If you enter electronic
or communications
as your query, the Query program will search for documents containing either
of those words.
NOT:
If your query
may produce related responses you're not interested in, use NOT to eliminate
responses you don't want.
For example:
bill clinton not hillary
automatic or not manual
not wsj and not ap and not
reuters
WITHIN: You can use
the WITHIN phrase in Boolean queries to increase precision through proximity
constraints. The WITHIN phrase specifies that certain words must appear
within so many words of each other. The WITHIN number represents the number
of "jumps" required to get from one word to the next.
For example:
network and security within
1
finds network and security
adjacent to one another
network and security within
2
finds network and security
with one intervening word
network and security within
3
finds network and security
with two intervening words
The WITHIN operator will
also work with a longer search string.
For example:
network and security and
virus and password within 50
This query would return documents
which contain all four of these terms within a 50 word span.
Proximity constraints
generally improve the accuracy of the search because fewer non-relevant
documents (where the search words are all present but very far apart) are
returned. (Currently, the WITHIN operator can only be used to designate
words; future versions may allow WITHIN sentences or WITHIN paragraph constraints.)
Be careful about the use
of parentheses when you use WITHIN (especially in nested statements). The
WITHIN and AND operators must be at the same level.
For example:
| Correct: |
network
and security within 1 |
| Correct: |
(general
electric within 3) and (westinghouse electric within 3) within 40 |
| Incorrect: |
(network
and security) within 1 |
ADJ: The adjacency
operator tests word proximity like the WITHIN operator does, but also checks
that the two words are in order.
For example:
faberge and egg adj 5
This query checks that the
two words appear within 5 words of one another, and that "Faberge" comes
first.
NESTED STATEMENTS:
Enclosed within parentheses, nested statements can also improve accuracy:
(voting and record) and
("house of representatives" or house) and (members) within 50
This query returns documents
containing the voting records of members of the House of Representatives.
If you want the WITHIN
operator to apply to only part of the search string, structure the query
so that the word WITHIN falls inside the parentheses.
For example:
radar
and (terrain and tactical and symbology within 25)
This query would return documents
which contained the term "radar" anywhere in the document, but also the
terms "terrain," "tactical," and "symbology" must appear in the document
within a 25-word span.
BETWEEN:
Use the
BETWEEN operator to search for text between any two other terms. This feature
enables you to find information in certain parts of a document (e.g., title,
body, etc.) even when no fielded search is available. The form is:
x
between b and c
where x is
the expression inside the b and c expressions. You must have
one expression to the left of the BETWEEN operator, and two expressions
to the right of it. You may not use any expression other than AND between
the b and c expressions. If you do not type AND, the system will assume
AND is the operator.
For example:
8/21/01 between date and
subject
The above query would return
documents where the date "8/21/01" falls somewhere after the word "date",
but before the word "subject". Only the x expression (in this case
"8/21/01") is marked as a hit, and it is marked only when it falls after
"date" and before "subject".
Special Operators
You can use any of the
following operators in Boolean mode (singly or in combination). Terms with
these operators won't be processed as a normal Boolean term. See
Chapter 3 for descriptions.
— Exclamation point
(!) for concept expansion
— Tilde (~) for pattern
expansion
— Parentheses ( ) for
nested statements
— Wildcards (?, *, _,
@, #, ^, [search expression] )
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