Most database interfaces include a simple search function which consists of a single box for entering search terms which will then be searched as keywords in most of the fields in the database records. The advanced search function has multiple boxes which allow you enter keywords for searching, but allow you to specify which database index is searched. Many interfaces for academic databases open in the advanced searching mode, but some open to the simple search function.
Exercise no. 2: access the following the following databases: RILM Abstracts of Musical Literature, ProQuest Dissertations, and WorldCat. Take note of similarities and differences in the Advanced Search Space for the three different interfaces.
The Advanced Search Space is at its most basic a keyword searching space. The three fundamental techniques in keyword searching are: logical connectors (AND, OR, NOT), term versus phrase searching, and special techniques such as truncation of a term or the insertion of a wildcard character in a term.
When more than one keyword is entered in a search box, you must establish a relationship between the terms, which is done by connecting the terms with a logical connector such as AND, OR, NOT. Terms connected by AND will retrieve citations containing both terms (Mozart AND ornamentation), terms connected by OR will retrieve citations containing either term (orchestration OR instrumentation), and terms connected by NOT will retrieve citations containing the first term but exclude citations if the second term is also present (Haydn NOT review). Within the Advanced Search Space you may use logical connectors within a search box or between search boxes.
Long strings of keywords connected by different logical operators will often not work in expected ways, since more than one type of logical operator requires that you group terms within parentheses. If you tried to construct a search to find materials on the influence of Haydn on Mozart and Beethoven, most database interfaces will interpret:
Haydn AND influence AND Mozart OR Beethoven
as: (Haydn AND influence AND Mozart) OR Beethoven
and retrieve many citations which contain only “Beethoven”.
Depending on the database interface you will have to add parentheses to make the intended logical relationship clear or use multiple search boxes to do the same:
One of the reasons Advanced Search Spaces have multiple boxes is to address this problem.
To make the results of your searching more predictable, try to ascertain how a given interface handles logical operators and strings of keywords. Generally databases treat strings of keywords as if connected by AND. If you want terms connected by OR or NOT, be explicit and if you want several terms searched only as a phrase, use quotes.
Exercise no. 3: In the database WorldCat search: music education. Then search: music and education. Note the total number of records retrieved. If they are the same number (or very close) then it signifies that WorldCat treats strings of keyword as if they were connected by AND.
You notice in the example above about clarifying logical operators that quotes were used to enclose "influence on". Keyword indexes can search for individual terms or phrases. The use of quotes generally guarantees a phrase search.
Exercise no. 4: In the database ERIC search: music education. Then search: "music education". Note the number of results obtained. It is logical to see fewer retrieved results with the use of quotes because the terms music and education may occur in a record when they are not in a phrase. Quotation marks retrieve results that included these terms together.
The example below shows how significant term versus phrase searching can be:
Two specialized symbols which are functional in most databases are the wildcard and truncation symbols.
The wildcard (which can vary between interfaces) allows you to place an unknown character within a word: a search using wom?n will retrieve records with woman or women.
The truncation symbol (which can vary between interfaces) allows you to place an unknown character(s) at the end of a word: a search on instrument* will retrieve records with instrument, instruments or instrumentation. These symbols are one way to expand a simple keyword search, but you should check the help screens within a given interface to confirm which characters are used to represent these concepts.
Exercise no. 5: In the ProQuest Dissertations database, search in the Document Title index: music*. Then search again on: music. If the search with the asterisk retrieves more records, than it probably found records with the term: musical.
Note that the concept of truncation of a term comes up without the truncation symbol. Most notably, online library catalogs support truncation without any truncation symbol. If you do an author search on: Bach, J. You will be placed in the part of the alphabet of authors where Bach, J. would occur and you can select the correct author heading and proceed.
Exercise no. 6: In the CWRU online library catalog (catalog.case.edu) do a Subject search on any composer of interest to you. Do so in the form: last name, first initial. Besides the entry for the composer's name as a subject (general works on the composer), note all the subject headings with sub-headings. Whenever an online database functions in this way it is said to support truncation. When you approach a new database for the first time, you should be able to answer the question, "does this database support truncation" with a single search.
Two specialized logical operators which are functional in most databases are proximity indicators or adjacency terms. These are generally labeled N (near) and W (within). They join two words in an AND relationship but specify a range of words which may be present between the two words. Searching on “Dresden N3 Opera” as a title will retrieve records with titles which include "Dresden" and "opera" near each other by no more than three words: "Dresden Opera", "opera in Dresden", and "Dresden archives include opera scores". Such a search would not retrieve a record with an abstract which included: "... fire in Dresden but the archives housed in the opera house ...". The W term works in a similar fashion, but restricts the adjacency to the same order in which you entered the terms. “Dresden W3 Opera” would retrieve a record with a title which included: "Dresden archives include opera scores", but not one with the title: "Opera in Dresden". Proximity indicators are one way to narrow a search on two keywords, but you should check the help screens within a given interface to confirm which characters are used to represent these concepts.
Most searching should not require these specialized logical operators; however, they can be useful if your searches are retrieving large numbers of database records and other keyword searching techniques are not effective in reducing the number of records retrieved while still retrieving relevant records.
Exercise no. 7: In the database PsycINFO search: children AND creativity. Then search: children N5 creativity. Note the number of results. The N5 search finds the two terms within 5 words of each other in any order. If the proximity search retrieves significantly less, than you have probably retrieved fewer records of greater relevance. You should have found records which include: creativity and children (as a phrase), creativity in children, children and creativity (as a phrase), but not records where the term children appears in the title and creativity appears in the abstract.
One of the most important features of the Advanced Search Space is the ability to select a specific keyword index for searching. Most of these indexes are labeled in such a way as to make it obvious what fields in the database record they search. It is obvious what keyword index labeled "Author" covers. But what if it is labeled Source Title, or Named Person, or Document Type, or Methodology? What if there are two keyword indexes, one called Author and the other Author Phrase? The best way to understand a specific keyword index is to look at a database record.
Exercise no. 8: in the database RILM, look at all the indexes available in the dropdown menu next to a search box. Note there is a index called: Source. What is this for? There is also one called Journal Title, so what is Source? Do a general keyword search on: music. Look at several full displays for database records retrieved and you will observe Source is whatever source the database record describes: a journal, a book, a dissertation, a conference proceeding. We can rightly assume a keyword search on Source will look through all sources, regardless of type. This implies that the index called Journal Title is more limited and will only search sources which are journals.
One of the major steps toward making a database appear more transparent is understanding the relationship between the name of a keyword index and the parts of a database record which it indexes. This understanding includes more than the connection between the index and the database record as shown in the next exercise.
Exercise no. 9: in the database ProQuest Dissertations and Theses execute a general keyword search on music. Pick any record retrieved and choose Abstract/Details. Evaluate the abstract and the subjects. How detailed is the abstract? How deep is the subject indexing, that is, how specific is it and how many aspects of the original items does it cover? You should notice that this database has one of the longest and most detailed abstracts of any database, while it has some of the most superficial subject indexing of any database. The Subject Heading index will be of almost no use for most topics.
In the example below a RILM record has been analyzed in terms of how the database fields related to various indexes:
The default or general keyword index used in a database is the one selected when you first open the Advanced Database Function. It may be labeled Select a Field (optional) as in RILM, or Keyword as in WorldCat, or Anywhere as in Proquest Dissertations. You should always ascertain quickly which fields it is actually covering and the best way to do this is to look in the database's help screens, although locating this information can be a challenge.
Exercise No. 10: in the database International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text locate the help button in the top bar upper right. Once in help scroll all the way to the bottom for database help specific to this database (and not the others that this vendor provides). You will find your answer to what the general (or unqualified) searching covers. Knowing this will inform your decisions about when to use the specific keyword indexes and when to use the general keyword index.