The advanced search function is very powerful. You can use it to create structured queries, where you apply limiters before searching instead of after. Like the search results page, it can look a bit complicated. Let's break it down.
It consists of two sections:
You can choose a specific field in which to search. Though some fields are perhaps more useful than others. You are perhaps unlikely to use an ISSN, an ISBN or an EBSCO internal accession number as a search term. Field searching is useful for reducing the number of results if you find yourself getting too many results to manage.
You can search in multiple fields using the Boolean Operators AND, OR and NOT to combine search terms. For example, you could search for Kelly (Author) AND sales "management" (Title) to find all items with "sales management" in the title and someone named Kelly as an author.
Field searching and Boolean Operators are a very powerful combination, but might be tricky to get right.
The search limiting options are the same as those described on the Basic Search page
Obviously, some of these limiters are more useful than others and If you're not comfortable using the advanced search options or find it all a bit complicated to use, then don't! Stick to the basic search, and maybe think about only using the full-text and peer-reviewed limiters if you need to
Use terms from EBSCO's thesaurus of subject terms in your search. Click on a term or the downward-pointing chevron to its right to get more information. If you're adventurous, you can combine subject terms for searches using Boolean operators. You can also search the thesaurus for terms to use in searching - useful if you're looking for different ways of expressing the same idea.
Advanced search is very powerful, but you might not need all its bells and whistles. If you're not comfortable using the advanced search options or find it all a bit complicated to use, then don't! Stick to the basic search, and maybe think about only using the Full Text and Peer Reviewed filters if you need to.
