Advanced Search

Advanced Search is a powerful way to search with ProQuest. Enter your word or phrase, and use the fields to focus your search.

See hints on improving your searches for tips on creating more effective searches. See frequently asked questions on Advanced searches for answers to some commonly asked questions.

1. Enter a word or phrase into the search field.
2. If you're combining your search with additional search words:

• Choose the operator (for example, AND or OR) you want to use. (For more information on using operators, see the Search Tips.)
• Add your search word to the search field next to the operator list.
• From the drop-down menu, select the field to search. (For more information on using these fields, see the Search Tips.)
• Continue adding words as needed. If you want to add more terms, click Add a row.

3. When you finish entering your terms, click Search.

You can focus your search by using the following options (some are only available after clicking More Options):

• Limit your search to articles by a specific Author.
• Select a specific Database.
• Set a Date range.
• Limit your search to a specific Language.
• Search a specific manuscript title.
• Limit your search to specific index terms (keywords).
• Limit your results to full text documents.
• Limit your search to a specific Manuscript Type.
• Select how many documents to display on each Results page.
• Limit your search to a specific school.
• Select how to sort your results.
• Limit your search to dissertations containing supplemental files

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Abstract

Search article abstracts for your terms.

For more information on using this field, see the Search Tips.

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Advisor

Lets you search for dissertations completed under the supervision of a specific academic advisor.

For more information on using this field, see the Search Tips.

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Author (Browse)

Enter an author's name to limit your search to articles written by that author or reviewer. Or click Browse authors to select a name from a list of the available authors.

You can enter the author's name in any order. Searching the author field for John A. Smith produces the same results as searching for Smith, John A.

You can enter multiple author's names, separating them by AND to find articles by two authors.

For more information on using this field, see the Search Tips.

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Citation and Abstract

When you select Citation and abstract from the drop-down menu, ProQuest searches the following fields:

• Author
• Personal Name
• Abstract
• Product Name
• Article Title
• Subject Terms
• Company Name
• Source (publication title)
• Geographical Name

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Database

The Database field lets you limit your search to a specific database available from ProQuest. The default for this field is the database you are currently searching (or multiple databases, if you are searching more than one database).

• Select a specific database from the drop-down menu to limit your search to a single database.
• Click Select Multiple Databases to select multiple databases.

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Date Range

The default for this field is All dates, which searches all information in the current databases.

To limit your search, select the desired date range from the drop-down menu.

If you select a date range option (for example, On this date... or Before this date...), a field (or fields) will appear for you to enter the desired dates.
Enter the desired date(s).

For information on the date formats ProQuest supports, see the date formats reference.

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Document ID

The Document ID is a unique number assigned to each document in ProQuest.

For more information on using this field, see the Search Tips.

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Document Language

To limit your search to a document originally published in a specific language, select the language from the drop-down menu.

For more information on using this field, see the Search Tips.

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Document Title

By default, this field is empty.

To limit your search to a specific dissertation or thesis, enter the manuscript's title.

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Index Terms / Keywords (Browse)

To search on specific index terms or keywords, as entered by the dissertation/thesis author, enter the terms. Or click Browse Subjects to select from those available.

For more information on using this field, see the Search Tips.

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Limit results to: Full text documents only

By default, ProQuest will search all information in the selected databases. To limit your search to documents available in full text format, check this box.

Leave the box empty to search articles available as citations and abstracts.

This option is only available for full text subscription. This option is suppressed for Abstract & Index only subscriptions.

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Manuscript Type

By default, ProQuest searches all dissertations and theses. To limit your search to only Doctoral dissertations or Master's theses, select that manuscript type from the drop-down menu.

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Results per page

Use this menu to adjust the number of documents displayed on each page. You can select 10, 20 or 30 articles per page.

You can change the number of results displayed later on the Results page.

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School

Enter a school's name to limit your search to dissertations from a particular school. Or click Browse schools to select a school from a list of those available.

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Sort Results by

This field lets you select how you want your results sorted. The options that are available here depend on the database or databases you are currently searching. For example, you may be able to sort records by most relevant, or to display the oldest records first.

Select the desired search order from the drop-down menu.

You can change your sort order on the Results page by using the Sort results by drop-down menu.

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Supplemental Files

Search for dissertations containing supplemental files such as images, videos, documents or spreadsheets.

Enter the supplemental file type. Enter All file types to limit your search to graduate works containing any type of supplemental file.

For more information on using this field, see the Search Tips.

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