Try our Basic Search
- Just type in your key word(s), like “avian influenza,” and select
.
- You'll get results ranked by relevance, or grouped in a way most likely to match your search query. The higher the number of stars
, the more relevant the document is to your query.
- Unlike many search engines, our results are retrieved in real time. So as results start to come in, you may want to select
to update. You may work with your results while WorldWideScience.org continues searching.
- You can
- You may set Session Preferences on the navigation bar after performing your first search.
You want a more Targeted Search? Try our Advanced Search

- You decide how to frame your search.
- You can customize your search by checking selected databases.
- You can search Full Record, Title, Author, and Date Range. You can also select specific sources to search.
- Full Record will search the entire content of a document, when available.
- You may
. This allows you to decide how the search operates between fields.
- ALL is the default, and finds results with terms occurring in all fields.
- ANY finds results with terms occurring in any of the fields.
- Date Range allows you to search one or more years in the 'From' and 'To' drop-down boxes.
- Leaving the boxes blank is the default, and will not use a date in the search.
- Selecting different 'From' and 'To' years will search the specified range.
- Selecting the same 'From' and 'To' years will search a single year.
- Selecting only the 'To' year will search any year including and prior to the year selected.
- Selecting only the 'From' year will search any year including and after the year selected.
- If the range is specified, the search will only return results specifying those years and any terms entered in the Full Record, Title, or Author Fields.
- Check select all or check individual databases to search.
-
runs the search.
-
clears the search terms in all fields and reverts to default settings.
-
Once you initiate your search, you may see this dialogue box. You may choose “View More Results” to get more results or “Continue” to viewing your current results.
- Select
to display helpful information specific to an item on the page.
takes you to online help.
Search Tips
Queries can include:
- Multiple terms (AND is the default)
Example: A search on frogs toads will return results on both frogs and toads. - Expressions using logical operators AND, OR, or NOT
Example: A search on frogs AND toads will return results where both frogs and toads appear; frogs OR toads will return results where either frogs or toads appear; frogs NOT toads will return results with frogs and without toads. - Phrases, contained in double quotation marks
Example: a search on “nitrate cycling” will return results where the term nitrate is immediately followed by the term cycling. - Parentheses, requiring the expression within to be evaluated first
- Wildcards
- Use * to search for the term with zero or more additional characters
Example: nucle* will return results with the terms nuclear, nucleus, nucleoprotein, etc. - Use ? to search for the term with only one additional character (characters include numbers, letters and punctuation)
Example: DO? will return results with the terms DOE, DOI, DOT, DOG, etc. - Searches are not case-sensitive
Example: RAIN, Rain and rain will produce the same results
- Use * to search for the term with zero or more additional characters
More About Your Results
- Full text is available when supported by the database(s) being searched.
- Results are linked to expanded information.
- Total number of search results may be restricted by the database.
- You can view results by date, rank, source, title or author.
- WorldWideScience searches in real time, so it may take a little longer to get your results.
- Our results may include full text, bibliographic citations, and other types of material from international databases and resources.
Need Help Navigating?
Once you have your results:
- Select the linked title to view a specific record or document OR select the check boxes beside the result to view.
-
presents a list of results you marked during the current session.
-
will delete all previous marks.
-
gives you the expanded version of the selected documents.
-
will take you back to the results that you've marked.
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