Simple Search

The sidebar search will locate content that includes all of the terms you enter. The terms may be in any metadata field or in the full text. You may use the drop-down menu to specify content from the repository as a whole or across all repositories which use bepress Digital Commons. Additionally, if you are searching from a particular collection, you may use the drop-down menu to specify content from that collection/series.

Advanced Search

The default advanced search is set to "All Fields," which will query all the criteria used in a simple search. You may refine results using the drop-down menus provided, for example:

  • Abstract searches both the Abstract and Description metadata fields at once.
  • Subject searches several metadata fields at once, including Subject Area, Disciplines, and Keywords.
  • Title searches only the "Title" metadata field. To search for results in the "Alternative Title" field, you must search "All Fields."
  • Document Type searches are case-sensitive. Examples include thesis, dissertation, and book, but the full list can be referenced here.
  • Publication searches for the title of the collection where the document is posted in Digital Commons. The full list may be found at http://scholarsmine.mst.edu/communities.html.
  • Department(s) searches the Department metadata field. The full list can be referenced here.

You may also use the +/- buttons to include an additional row of search criteria. When doing so, you will have the ability to specify whether the new row should narrow or broaden the results by using "AND," "OR," or "NOT" operators.

Searches may also be refined by date range or limit, sorted and exported:

  • Date range limits results to content published within the specified period. The format for date range is MM/DD/YYYY - MM/DD/YYYY.
    Example: 08/01/2001 - 08/01/2011.
  • Limit search to: You may use the drop-down menu to specify content from the repository as a whole, or across all repositories using bepress Digital Commons. Additionally, if you are searching from a particular publication/collection, you may use the drop-down menu to specify content from that publication.
  • Sort by automatically displays results in order of relevance (i.e., closest match), but may be changed to publication date if desired.
  • Results Format (exports) –
    • links is the default format. This returns the search results with links to document cover pages.
    • Bibliography Export returns the search results in Refer format, suitable for import into ISI Bibliography programs, such as EndNote and ProCite.
  • Saving your Search/Research Alerts

    After formulating your search, you will find two action choices in the bar above your results: "My saved searches" and "Save this search." To save the results of the search, click the "Save this search" button. For both actions, you must be logged in. Both actions will take you to a page entitled "Research Alerts," which contains:

    • My Saved Searches. You can run searches from this page, see when the search was last run and if there are changes.
    • My Email Preferences. This enables you to receive notifications of future content that matches your criteria.

    Tips

    Special characters can enhance your results. Lowercase your terms in combination with the following:

    • Asterisks (*) within or at the end of a term function like multiple wildcards. Example: an All Fields search for l*nn will return results with lynn, linn, and lochlann.
    • Questions marks (?) within or at the end of a term function like single wildcards. Example: an All Fields search for l?nn will return results with lynn and linn, not lochlann.
    • Quotation marks (") around terms return exact phrase matches. Example: "cooler water" will return different results from "water cooler."
    • Tildes (~) at the end of a term return fuzzy matches. Example: colour~ will return results with colour, color, and coli.

    Commas will be ignored in any search. For example, when searching "Author," "LastName, FirstName" simply returns results with those two names; it is not a different search than FirstName LastName; and the results will also include records with any author with the designated first name and any other author with the designated last name.

    However, Search supports some SOLR syntax. Proper capitalization of names is required with the following:

    • author_lname: The last name of an author can be specified. Example: an All Fields search for author_lname: Lynn will only return content by authors with the last name of Lynn.
    • author_fname: The first name of an author can be specified. Example: an All Fields search for author_fname: Lynn will only return content by authors with the first name of Lynn.

    Use the tips above to construct finely tuned queries; then save your criteria using the "Save this search" feature.