SilverPlatter Search Tab

OvidSP treats multiple terms as a phrase.

Searching from the SilverPlatter Search tab:

	Select from the Search options menu, SilverPlatter Search
	Type your topic or question to be searched
	Click the Search Button below (limits may be applied, as necessary or as desired)

OvidSP searches the database for your term and will post the results to the search history.

Search with Truncation and Wildcards

Using truncation or wildcards with a search term can retrieve variations you might not have considered.

The truncation symbol (*) substitutes for a string of characters or no characters. For example, the search child* retrieves records that contain terms such as child, children, childhood, and so on.
The wildcard symbol (?) substitutes for one character or none. For example, the search wom$n retrieves records that contain the terms woman or women.

 Use truncation or wildcards anywhere in a search term except as the first character.

Search with Parentheses

Using parentheses with terms can eliminate ambiguity in complex search statements.

For example, the search obesity and (women or children) retrieves records that contain the terms obesity and women, records that contain the terms obesity and children, and records that contain the terms obesity and women and children.

 For the search obesity and women or children, OvidSP automatically presumes parentheses between the first and second term. Therefore, this search retrieves records that include the terms obesity and women, and records that include the term children, but not necessarily records that include both the terms obesity and children.

	Check records in your Search Results Display to verify that OvidSP interpreted the search as you intended.

Search with Hyphens

Hyphenate the terms of fielded searches if fields of a database accept hyphens

For example, the search smith-jones in au retrieves only those records that contain the name smith-jones in the Author (AU) field of the database.

Omitting hyphens in a fielded search can retrieve variations of a search term. For example, the search smith in au retrieves records with the following names in the Author (AU) field: smith, smith-jones, smith-brown, and so forth.

Combine Terms with Operators

Combine multiple search terms into a single, more efficient search statement by using any of the following operators.

adj	Retrieves records with terms next to each other in a specified order. For example, the search obesity adj treatments retrieves only those records in which the term obesity immediately precedes the term treatments.  The adj operator does not work with terms that are bound by a hyphen. For example, the search collaborative adj learning does not return records that contain term collaborative-learning.
and	Retrieves records that include all terms. For example, the search obesity and children retrieves only those records that include both the terms obesity and children.
near	Retrieves records with all search terms in the same sentence. For example, the search obesity near treatments retrieves only those records in which the terms obesity and treatments appear in the same sentence (in any order).  Addending the NEAR operator with a number indicates more precisely a desired position of the terms and implies a closer conceptual relationship between them. For example, the search obesity near2 treatments retrieves all records in which the term obesity occurs within two words (in any order) of the term treatments.
not	Retrieves records that include the first of two terms and specifically exclude the second. For example, the search obesity not men retrieves only those records that include the term obesity and exclude the term men.  Use the NOT operator cautiously as it can eliminate useful records.
or	Retrieves records with either or both terms. For example, the search obesity or overweight retrieves all records that include the terms obesity or overweight or both the terms obesity and overweight.
with	Retrieves records that include both terms in the same database field. For example, the search obesity with children in ab retrieves only those records in which the terms obesity and children in the Abstract (AB) field of the database.