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Using SearchWorks: Searching the library catalog and articles+: Advanced search

This guide provides general tips on using SearchWorks and the articles+ search feature to find materials in the Stanford Libraries catalog and across a wide range of subscribed databases.

Advanced search

When to use advanced search

Use advanced search when you need to:

  • combine two or more specific fields
  • search by publisher or place of publication
  • combine two or more values of a limit
    • items in either the Music Library or Archive of Recorded Sound
    • Journals and Newspapers published in Spain
  • do complex Boolean logic

In many cases, a simple search will be effective to find a title + author:

  • All fields: history man bradbury

The correct item will typically be in the first 2-3 results.

 

Example

Find everything by or about Picasso in the Art Library.

  • Match ANY
    • Title: picasso
    • Author: picasso
    • Subject: picasso
  • Limit to Library: Art & Architecture

The results will not include ~300 works that mention Picasso in a content note or review, or other minor mention. These additional items would be retrieved in a simple search, but would be ranked at the end of the results.

 

Boolean

You can create complex Boolean logic using AND, OR, and NOT (all in upper-case) and parentheses for nesting.

 

What is searched in each field

  • All fields
    • All metadata, except call numbers
  • Title
    • main title
    • uniform title
    • title variant (including former title)
    • related title
    • series title (also searchable in a separate field)
  • Author
    • main author
    • contributors (co-authors, advisors, illustrators, etc.)
    • series author
  • Subject
    • database topic (domain headings assigned only to databases)
    • subject headings, including topic, region, era, and genre
    • topic keywords from SDR-deposited items
  • Series
    • series title
  • Place, publisher, year
    • country of publication (e.g. Spain)
    • location (e.g. Valencia)
    • publisher
    • publication date (single year; does not allow date ranges)
  • ISBN/ISSN
    • isbn
    • issn
    • oclc
    • barcode
    • call number
      • in advanced search, call number must be searched in quotation marks, e.g. "JQ1879 .A15 D385"