Searching like a pro. Online course on literature searching.

Advanced search (6/14)

In most search platforms, you start with a “quick search”, i.e. with one search field. For systematic literature search it is recommended to use “advanced search” that includes several search fields. The advanced search option can be found on every search platform, e.g. also in the search engine Google.

You will find most of the following search parameters in all catalogues and databases and you can also easily combine them with each other:
  • combine several search fields e.g. author, title, subject headings etc.;
  • set the publication time, e.g. 2000 – 2019;
  • set the language, e.g. English.
  • search for selected publication forms, e.g. books, online publications etc.
  • combine different search terms with the Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT.

The following video made by the University of Technology Sydney Library uses the example of Proquest databases to explain how you can make the best out of the advanced search:

External content from www.youtube.com is loading. Please confirm that you want to see the content.

Proquest: Advanced Searching by the University of Technology Sydney Library under the CC BY-SA 4.0 AU license.