Basic Search

Basic Search is an ideal way to get started with ProQuest. Just think of a word or phrase related to the information you're looking for and type it into the computer.

See hints on improving your searches for some tips on creating searches. See frequently asked questions on Basic searches for answers to some common questions.

Basic Search:

1. Enter a word or phrase into the search field.
2. Click Search.

You can focus your search with the following options (some are only available after clicking on 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 results to full text documents.
• Limit your search to a specific Manuscript Type.
• Limit your search to a specific school.
• Select how to sort your results.
• Limit your search to a specific Subject.

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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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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 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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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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Natural Language Search

Searches are intercepted and translated using a natural language search engine. This lets you enter your search as a question or a sentence. The search engine will translate the entry to find the keywords by their position in the sentence.

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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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Subject

To limit your search to articles that mention a particular subject or company type (in Hoover's), enter the subject.

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