JSTOR provides a help page for using advanced searching techniques. Below are a number of examples of advanced searches.
Imagine that you were interested in researching the scientific uses and abuses of brain weight.
Below is a "simple" advanced search: Note that all advanced search terms must be enclosed in quotation marks.
Next, is a search using the JSTOR truncation symbol + The + symbol allows for word variants to be searched. So "weigh+" will find "weigh" or "weighed" or "weighs" or "weight" or "weighing," etc.
Parentheses allow for complex searches to be created.
Proximity searching allows for more control over results. Forcing the computer to locate articles wherein search terms occur on the same page or paragraph or sentence, filters content in a way that roughly approximates subject searching. The search below requires that "brain" be found on the same page as some variation of the word "weigh."
Note that a comma must come between terms. Also, that it must be outside of the parentheses.
The search below locates articles in which the words "brain" and some variant of "weigh" appear at least once on the same page as some variant of "hydro" or "enceph." Immediately below is how the search would appear if written on one line.
page("brain","weigh+") and (page("hydro+")or page("enceph+"))
A search which retrieves articles in which "brain" and some variant of "weigh" must appear at least once in the same sentence.
It also possible to search by word proximity, e.g. how many words intervene between two terms. Below is a search that says that "brain" must be found within 15 words or less of some variant of "weigh." Note that a comma must come after the number.
Below is a search that requires the word "brain" be found within 15 words or less of some variant of "weigh" or that an article contain the words "brain," "elephant," and some variant of "weigh" on the same page.
It also possible to limit searches to the author, title, or abstract fields. The syntax is:
"author's name"/name or "word"/title or "word"/abstract
|
"cox"/name would locate all articles in which someone by name of cox appears as the author or co-author. |
| "brain"/abstract would locate all articles in which the word "brain" appears in the abstract |
| "brain"/title would locate all articles in which the word "brain" appears in the title |
Below is a search that locates articles in which the word "brain" appears and the name "cox" appears as an/the author.
Below is a search which requires that "Chris" and "Cox" both be present in the author field.
Below is a search which requires that "Nienwen Chow" be found as an author.
