Advanced Ovid Search Tab

OvidSP provides the same search functionality of Ovid Web Gateway's advanced search mode when you choose the Advanced Ovid Search tab. Here, keyword searching is the default search type of the command line.

The Advanced Ovid Search tab offers the following search types:

To make a search:

	Select a search type. In this example, Keyword is used.
	Type a term or phrase in the command line.
	Click the Search button.

OvidSP will post the results to your search history.

Keyword Searching

Keyword searching is the default search type of the Advanced Ovid Search tab. Select or tick the Keyword radio button and type a term or phrase in the command line. Click the Search button to begin Keyword searching. OvidSP posts results to your search history.

In addition, Keyword mode on the Advanced Ovid Search tab lets you take advantage of legacy Ovid search syntax, dot-dot commands, and Boolean operators. With these quick search techniques, you do not have to type long statements.

The word scope is an OWG legacy syntax command that automatically opens scope notes from the command line. To use it as part of a search in OvidSP and not have it interpreted as the syntax command, you must enclose it in quotes. For example, if you want to search for Scope of Nursing Practice, you must type "scope of nursing practice" into the command line.

Database Stop Words

Some words occur so frequently within a database that they lose their usefulness as search terms. To address this, some information providers do not index them. These stop words include:

• Articles,
• Prepositions
• Forms of the verb to be.

Since stop words are not indexed in certain resources, OvidSP does not search for them. For example, in the phrase copper in sulfate, your stop word is in and therefore, OvidSP does not search for it.. However, they are displayed as part of the search results.

	Refer to the database guide to learn more on stop words.
	If the resource you selected uses stop words, you may indicate to OvidSP that you want them included in your search by placing the entire phrase within the quotation marks. For example, "hope and faith" phrase is retrieved by OvidSP exactly as you typed it since it is closed in quotation marks.

Vocabulary Mapping

In resources with controlled vocabulary, you can map search terms to subject headings from the keyword command line. The Map Term to Subject Heading check box option is displayed below the command line.

OvidSP's mapping process automatically matches search term(s) with the controlled vocabulary of the resource. When your term maps to subject heading, OvidSP opens the Mapping Display page .

Mapping Display for childhood obesity

Refer to Vocabulary Mapping to learn more about mapping, exploding, and focusing terms from OvidSP's Mapping Display.

Click Search Tools tab to understand more on mapping functionality.

Author Searching

Author searching lets you find records written by a specific person.

Select the Author radio button and type the author's last name in the command line to begin a search.

Include a space and initial of the author's first name, if known. There is no need to for you to know the complete or the entire name (First Name and Last Name). Author searching is not case sensitive.

If you do not know an author's first name or initials, try truncating the name, as in the keyword command singh$.au. This command retrieves all authors in the database with the specified surname.

Click the Search button to display an alphabetically arranged index of authors starting from the name you entered.

Browse through the author index in any of these three (3) ways:

	Page by page navigation starting from your entry.
	By tabbed letter/number.
	Search for names elsewhere in the index by entering a new name in the search box provided.

Select the check box and click the Search for Selected Terms button when you find the name of the author(s) whose records you want to retrieve. OvidSP will post the results to your search history.

Title Searching

Title searching lets you search only by titles of records using specific words or phrases.

Select the Title radio button and type a term or phrase in the text box to begin a search. Click the Search button to post the results.

Journal Searching

Journal searching lets you search for words and phrases in all journal titles of the Journals@Ovid database.

Select the Journal radio button and type the first few letters of a journal name in the command line to begin a search.

You do not need to know the full name of the journal to use this search type.

Click the Search button to open the journal index display starting from the term you entered.

	Page by page from the lettered index starting from the text you entered.
	By tabbed letter/number.
	Search for title words elsewhere in the index by entering a new word or phrase in the search box provided.

Select the check box and click the Search for Selected Terms button once you found the name of the journal(s) you want to retrieve. OvidSP will post the results to your search history.

Advanced Searching Techniques

Enter special commands with OvidSP's advanced searching techniques:

• Command line syntax and dot-dot commands
• Truncation and wild cards
• Boolean query and set operators
• Post qualification of search sets

Click Advanced Searching Techniques to learn and understand more on advanced search techniques.