Search system

  1. Search form interface and searchable fields
  2. Special characters

1. Search form interface and searchable fields

The search interface shown in Figure 1 illustrates the form as found on the results page. The form on the home page contains the same fields but arranged differently. This form allows searches to be filtered by the following fields:

  1. Title and Keywords (text box)
  2. Authors (text box)
  3. Volume/Number (drop down menu).

Items to be searched can be entered in the text box and refined by selecting volume/number from the drop down menu. Then press enter key or click on the "search" button.

2. Special characters

Some characters have a special meaning (figure 2) when used in text box fields.


Characters that represent any single character: (for example: s?ck = sack, sick, … but not sidekick)

  • Question mark ( ? )
  • Underline ( _ )
  • Apostrophe ( ' )

Characters that represent any sequence of one or more characters: (for example: s*ck = sack, s1234ck, or sidekick)

  • Asterisk ( * )
  • Percentage sign ( % )

The use of the whitespace character on the Title/Keywords field:

When two or more words are typed separated by white spaces in the Title/Keywords text box field, the search result will only include papers containing ALL the specific terms. For that reason, when multiple terms are typed, the search will be very specific and will result in fewer records.

The use of special characters on the Authors field:

In the Authors field the white space does not have a special function, so when searching by "José Joaquin" the result will only return records where at least one of the authors has that text within his name. For example: Antonio José Joaquin, Alanjose joaquin sanchez, etc. To search for José John Joaquim, you should write "José * Joaquim" or "José % Joaquim"