Search

In the search bar above (see illustration below) you can compose a search operation by entering one or more search terms.

Above the search field there are three drop-down menus with which you can modify your search operation. Once you have entered your search operation, click on the search button. The search results are then displayed on the screen.

See also:

• Simple search for more information about composing search operations.
• Extensive search for information about modifying and refining search operations.
• Special search keys for information regarding search keys with which you can search by authors, publications, etc.

1.  Simple search

The search bar is the point from which you coordinate your search activities. You can use the search bar to:

• Enter search terms;
• Perform search operations;
• Change standard search options to suit your needs.

To search bibliographical data, you must enter a search operation in the horizontal search field, next to the search button. A search operation consists of a search term or a combination of search terms. A search term is a sequence of characters without spaces (you cannot use the characters &, |, ~, (), / unless they are preceded by a backslash, \. For example: ups \& downs).

For example: The search engine regards 'bookplates' as one search term, while 'book plates' is regarded as two search terms. Exception: the author's complete name is regarded as one search term. For example: bakker, bas de.

If you want to search for a specific phrase, you must use quotation marks, for example: "fourth symphony".

The search engine is not case sensitive. Your can use either upper or lower case letters or you can mix capital and small letters. This has no influence on the results of your search operation.

Once you have entered a search operation, click on the search button. To interrupt a search operation, use your web browser's standard button.

1.1  Drop-down menus

Above the search field you will see a number of drop-down menus in the search bar with which you can modify a search operation. The options in the menus allow you to further refine your search in the database.

Menu 1

In the first menu you can select one of three search methods:

• Search (and);
  The standard selection is the search method AND. A search operation of two or more search terms shows the titles that contain all the search terms entered. For example: einstein AND gravity searches for all titles that contain both einstein and gravity.
  
• Search (or);
  In the menu you can also select the OR search method. A search operation with two or more search terms shows all titles that contain at least one of the search terms. For example: einstein OR gravity searches for all titles that contain either einstein or gravity or both.
  
• Browse;
  With the selection Browse you can scan the index for the search terms you have entered.

After a search it is possible to enlarge, restrict, etc. the results. For more information see: Perform a search operation on the search result.

For additional information about modifying search operations, see Extensive search.

Menu 2

In the second menu you can select a search key with which you can further modify a search operation:

	[ALL] all words
	Select "[ALL] all words" if you want to search different parts simultaneously, such as title, keyword and summary.
	[PER] person/author
	Select "[PER] person/author" if you are searching for a specific author.
	[TPR] Title (phrase)
	Select "[TPR] Title (phrase)", if you want to search for title as string (word by word in exact order).
	[TIT] title (keywords)
	Select "[TIT] title (keywords)" if you want to search the titles of books, magazines, conference proceedings or magazine articles or other material.
	[SER] series, periodical (keywords)
	Select "[SER] series, periodical (keywords)" if you want to search magazine titles.
	[LSW] local subject heading
	Select "[LSW] local subject heading" if you want to search for subject heading which have been added to the titles.
	[SLW] Keywords
	Select "[SLW] Keywords" if you are searching with a GOO keyword.
	[SP] subject headings
	Select "[SP] subject headings", if you want to search for subject heading as string (word by word in exact order).
	[THM] All topics
	Select "[THM] All topics" if you are searching with subject headings and keywords of the title in any order.
	[SGN] Shelf mark
	Select "[SGN] Shelf mark" if you want to serach for the shelf mark.
	[NUM] any number
	Select "[NUM] any number" if you know the ISBN or ISSN number for a specific publication.

For additional information regarding search keys, see Special search keys.

Menu 3

With the third menu you can sort the results of your search operation. You can sort by:

• year of publication.
• relevance.

By default titles are sorted by year of publication (JVU). The most recent publications are then displayed first.

You can also sort publications by relevance. This means they are displayed in sequence of importance. Titles that are most to the point are displayed first. What determines that one title is more relevant than another title? The search engine analyses the contents of the title using a combination of the following factors:

• Frequency: the number of times a search term appears in a title.
• Compactness: the relative length of the titles found.
• Reverse work frequency: terms that seldom appear in the entire database weigh more heavily.