Research tips

Below you will find some tips on how to search FILIP and other research sources.

  • Upper and lower case are not important.
  • Special characters (&, |, ~, ( ), /) are not searched for.

The terms and symbols listed below are used in FILIP; other search sources may use different symbols. These can usually be found in the respective help texts.

Boolean operators should always be written in capital letters and in English. Use also the advanced search.

Boolean operators
ANDSeveral search terms in a line are usually automatically linked with AND. All terms must be present in one hit; the search query becomes more precise.

Example: Tolkien AND rings
ORAt least one of the search terms must be present in the hit. Search results with all terms are more relevant. Useful, for example, when searching with synonyms.

Ex: library OR library
NOTThe following term is actively excluded from the search.

Ex: cancer NOT animal
NOnly when searching in "FILIP databases". The search terms must be close to each other.

Ex: "malaria N4 sickle cell disease" - both terms are a maximum of four words apart, in any order.
WOnly when searching in "FILIP databases". The search terms must be close to each other in the specified order.

Example: "malaria W5 sickle cell disease" - both terms are a maximum of five words apart, in the specified order.
Placeholder
*Replaces any number of letters at the end or in the middle of a word. Useful e.g. when searching with singular/plural forms or different grammatical endings.

Example: sonn* = sun, Sunday, sun, sun cream, sunflower, ...
?Replaces exactly 1 letter at the end or in the middle of a word.

Example: m?yer = Mayer or Meyer
Phrase search

For a precise search for several terms in the exact string, use inverted commas. In FILIP, this search strategy is unfortunately not possible in the "All fields" field, use the advanced search here.
Example: "War and peace"