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Frequently asked questions
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Search tips
For step-by-step assistance with searches, saving results and other technical questions look for the help section on the EBSCO search pages.
Think about alternative subject terms
The EBSCO database is originally from the US and uses search terms that may be better suited to the US market. If your search results do not produce the number of results you would expect, consider alternative subject terms – for example, stock options rather than share-based payments.
Try a search using the subject terms you are familiar with in your country and look at the results generated. You can see the subject terms used by EBSCO by viewing the citations in your results list and this may give you ideas on how to fine-tune your search.
Use geographic terms
You can use geographic terms to restrict your search to look for results focused on a specific country. For example, to select articles focused on the UK, use the advanced search option, type ‘great britain’ in one of the find boxes and select 'GE Geographic Terms' from the drop down menu next to the box.
Search for full text articles only
You can tick the check box labeled 'Full Text' and this will exclude citations and anything other than full text reports and articles from your search results.
Use Boolean operators to create broader or narrower searches
The AND operator combines search terms so that each result contains all of the terms. For example, ‘electronic AND resources’ will find articles that contain both words.
The OR operator combines terms so that each result contains at least one of the terms. For example, ‘college OR university’ will find articles that contain either word.
The NOT operator excludes search terms so that results do not contain the terms that follow it. For example, ‘computers NOT apple’ will find articles that contain computers, but not apple.
Use wildcard (?) and truncation (*) to create searches using terms that have unknown characters, multiple spellings or various endings
A wildcard search (represented by a ?) will find all instances of your search terms by automatically replacing the ? with a single letter. Enter your terms and replace each unknown character with a ?. For example, ‘ne?t’ will find results containing neat, nest or next.
A truncation search (represented by an asterisk *) will find all forms of your terms. Enter the root of a word and replace the ending with an *. For example, ‘comput*’ will find articles that contain the words computer and computing.
Use proximity searching to create searches for terms that are near to each other
Near Operator (N): Inserting N5 will produce results if the search terms are within five words of one another, regardless of the order in which they appear. For example, ‘tax N5 reform’ will find results that would match ‘tax reform’ as well as ‘reform of the tax code’.
Within Operator (W): Inserting W8 will produce results if the search terms are within eight words of one another and in the order in which you entered them. For example, ‘tax W8 reform’ will find results that match ‘tax reform’ or ‘tax without the ability to reform’ but will not match ‘reform of the tax code’.
Terms of use
The articles in these databases are copyright works. Unless permitted by statute or you have the permission of the copyright owner, you may not:
- print more than a single paper copy which itself must not be further copied;
- save more than one copy of the file.
Users are permitted to access these databases for personal use and must also comply with any other licensing or terms of use statement on the EBSCO website.
Access to these databases are given under the terms of licences and permissions held by the LIS from our suppliers and the above conditions are set by the terms of these licences and permissions.
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