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Narrow the search results

You can narrow the search resuls:

  • before the search by choosing preferred type of material in the drop down menue connected to the search box
  • after the search by using the search filters (facets) i högra kanten
  • by using a combination of both.

Wildcard Searches

To perform a single character wildcard search use the ? symbol.

To perform a multiple character, 0 or more, wildcard search use the * symbol.

To search for "text" or "test" you can use the search:

te?t

To search for test, tests, tester or testing you can use the search: 

test*

You can also use the wildcard searches in the middle of a term.

te*t

Note: You cannot use a * or ? symbol as the first character of a search.

Phrase searches

Search term or terms enclosed in quotation marks will be used literally.

To search for records containing the exact phrase "intellectual property" and not e.g. "intellectual property law":

"intellectual property"

Also single words can be enclosed in quotation marks to use the term literally, ignoring different conjugations.

Combine terms with Boolean Operators

Boolean operators allow terms to be combined with logic operators. The following operators are allowed: AND, +, OR and NOT, hyphen (-) is not in use.

Note: Boolean operators must be ALL CAPS

AND

The AND operator is the default conjunction operator. This means that if there is no Boolean operator between two terms, the AND operator is used. The AND operator matches records where both terms exist anywhere in the field of a record.

To search for records that contain "economics" and "Keynes" use the query: 

economics Keynes

or

economics AND Keynes

+

The "+" or required operator requires that the term after the "+" symbol exist somewhere in the field of a record.

To search for records that must contain "economics" and may contain "Keynes" use the query:

+economics Keynes

OR

The OR operator links two terms and finds a matching record if either of the terms exist in a record.

To search for documents that contain either "economics" or "Keynes" or both terms use the query:

economics OR Keynes

NOT

The NOT operator excludes records that contain the term after NOT. To search for documents that contain "economics" but not "Keynes" use the query: 

economics NOT Keynes

Fuzzy Searches

Use the tilde ~ symbol at the end of a Single word Term. For example to search for a term similar in spelling to "roam" use the fuzzy search: 

roam~

This search will find terms like foam and roams.

An additional parameter can specify the required similarity. The value is between 0 and 1, with a value closer to 1 only terms with a higher similarity will be matched. For example:

roam~0.8

The default that is used if the parameter is not given is 0.5.

Proximity Searches

Use the tilde ~ symbol at the end of a Multiple word Term. For example, to search for economics and keynes that are within 10 words apart: 

"economics Keynes"~10

Range Searches

To perform a range search you can use either the { } or the [ ] characters. The { } characters are exclusive and the [ ] characters are inclusive of the upper and lower bounds. For example to search for a term that starts with either B, or C: 

{A TO D}

The searches can be done with numeric fields such as the year: 

[2002 TO 2004]

Boosting a Term

To apply more value to a term, you can use the ^ character. 

economics Keynes^5

Will give more value to the term "Keynes"

Advanced Search

The Advance search function allows you to do more specific searches using advanced search features. The advanced search is available for searches in the library catalogue, the electronic material as well as the database sets.

Search Fields

The advanced search contains several search fields, that can be combined using boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).

Each field is accompanied by a drop-down menue to let you specify the type of data you are searching for (title, author, etc.).

The "Match" setting lets you specify how multiple search fields should be handled.

  • ALL Terms (AND) - Return only records that match every search field.
  • ANY Terms (OR) - Return any records that match at least one search field.
  • NO Terms (NOT) - Return all records EXCEPT those that match search fields.

The "Add Search Field" button may be used to add additional search fields to the form. You may use as many search fields as you wish.

Search Groups

For certain complex searches, a single set of search fields may not be enough. For example, suppose you want to find books about the history of China or India. If you did an ALL Terms search for China, India, and History, you would only get books about China AND India. If you did an ANY Terms search, you would get books about history that had nothing to do with China or India.

Search Groups provide a way to build searches from multiple groups of search fields. Every time you click the "Add Search Group" button, a new group of fields is added. Once you have multiple search groups, you can remove unwanted groups with the "Remove Search Group" button, and you can specify whether you want to match on ANY or ALL search groups.

In the history of China or India example, you could solve the problem using search groups like this:

  • In the first search group, enter "India" and "China" and make sure that the "Match" setting is "ANY Terms."
  • Add a second search group and enter "history."
  • Make sure the match setting next to the Search Groups header is set to "ALL Groups."