Tips for literature research and advanced searches
The first time you open the advanced search, several search fields will appear. In each field, you can enter a search term and combine it with search operators.
Each input field includes a drop-down menu that allows you to select the search field (e.g., title, author). You can combine search fields in any way you like.
The "Search criteria" setting allows you to define the relationship between the individual fields within a search group. Please make sure to spell your terms correctly; there is no auto-correct for typos.
Advanced search fields
All fields
The terms used are searched for throughout the entire bibliographic description. This means that titles, keywords, tables of contents, and abstracts (if available) are also searched.
This means you will also see the results that you have already searched for in the "Subject" or "Title” words fields.
Library-specific information about the book, such as the shelf number and location, is not included in the search.
Title
If you enter one or more terms in the "Title" search field, you will only see results that include those exact terms in the title or subtitle.
Person/Institution
In this field, you can search by author, editor, or publishing institution.
Subject
Library staff assign keywords to all media items that describe the book's content. These keywords are selected from a list of standardized German terms. This search will therefore also help you find titles in other languages. In the case of journal articles, the keywords are usually assigned by the authors themselves.
Publisher
In this field, you can search for media from specific publishers.
ISBN, ISSN, DOI, etc.
The search field “ISBN, ISSN, DOI etc.” in OPAC allows you to search for clearly identifiable media in a targeted way. This field can be used to enter international standard numbers such as the ISBN for books, the ISSN for journals and serial publications, and the DOI for scientific articles or electronic publications.
Shelf number
The shelf number is a library-specific identification number used to locate an item. In order to search for it in the OPAC, you must enter it exactly as it appears.
Notation
"Notation" refers to the systematic classification of a medium. The notation is a combination of numbers and/or letters used to assign a title to a specific subject area and is part of the shelf number. Its purpose is to organize items by subject and make them easy to find on the shelf or in the OPAC.
Search criteria (Match Terms)
AND (with all terms)
Returns only those results that contain all of the words or phrases (equivalent to the Boolean "AND").
OR (with any terms)
Returns results that contain at least one of the words or phrases (equivalent to the Boolean "OR").
NOT (without terms)
Returns all results that do not contain the specified words or phrases (equivalent to the Boolean “NOT”).
Search groups
Some searches are more complicated, and a simple search across multiple fields is not sufficient. For example: You want to search for books on the history of India and China. If you enter the search terms in the "AND (with all terms)" field, you will see only the titles that deal with the history of India and China. If you use the search criterion "OR (with any terms)", you will also get titles that have nothing to do with China or India, but simply contain the term "history."
Search groups allow you to group search fields into a single search. Each time you click the "Add Search Group" button, a new group of search fields is added. You can also remove groups from the search by clicking the “x” that appears in the lower-right corner of a group when at least two groups are displayed. Using "AND (with all terms)" or "OR (with any terms)," you can control whether the search should include all groups or just at least one.
For the example described above, you can perform the search using the following search criteria:
- Enter the terms "India" and "China" in the input fields of the first search group, and set the search condition to "OR (with any terms)."
- Add another search group and enter "history" in it.
- Set the search condition to "AND (with all terms)."
Search operators
Boolean operators allow words to be logically combined. The following operators are allowed: AND, +, OR, NOT , and -. Boolean operators must be capitalized!
AND
The AND operator is the default operator. This means that if no operator is placed between two words, the "and" operator is used. If you connect two words with "AND," you will get results that contain both words.
Example
You are searching for titles that contain the words "economics" and "Keynes":
Economics Keynes
or
Economics AND Keynes
+
By placing the + operator before a word, you will only get results that contain that word.
Example
+Economics +Keynes
OR
If an "OR" operator is used between two words, you will get results that contain either one or both of those words.
Example
You are searching for titles that contain the words "economics" or "Keynes":
"Economics Keynes" OR Keynes
NOT
By placing "NOT" before a word, you exclude results that contain that word.
Example
You want to search for titles that contain the word "economics" but not the word "Keynes":
Economics NOT Keynes
Please note: "NOT" must be used with at least two words. For example, the following search will return no results: NOT Economics
-
If the operator (-) is placed before a word, all results containing that word are filtered out.
Example
Economics -Keynes
Search tips
Truncation
The asterisk (*) acts as a wildcard, replacing any number of characters in a word. This allows you to abbreviate words.
Example
*psycholo* will return results for"psychology", "psychological", etc.
Search with a wildcard
To use a placeholder for any character, please use a question mark ?.
Example
“M?yer” will return results for “Meyer”, “Mayer”, etc.
Phrase search
When searching for phrases, enclose terms in quotation marks to search for that exact combination of search terms.
Example
"Intercultural Social Work" returns only results in which all three search terms appear in the specified order. This usually helps you achieve a higher percentage of relevant results.
Keyword Search
You can continue your search using the keywords from a relevant title. With a single click, the selected keyword is used for a new search.
Category search
To search by category, use curly brackets { }.
Example
You want to search for a word that starts with A, B, or C: {A TO C}
You can do the same with numbers, such as years: [2002 TO 2003]
Weighing words differently
You can assign greater weight to words by assigning a numerical value to them. In order to do this, use a small roof symbol ^.
Example
Economics Keynes^5
This gives the word "Keynes" greater weight, causing it to be given more attention in search results.
