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FAQ
IndexCat -- How to Search

Question:  How do I search IndexCat?

Answer:

For a first search, use Quick Search - Keyword Anywhere (automatic AND) and enter your keyword(s). Searching is not case-sensitive and punctuation is not needed. Quick Search results indicate how many citations may match your search term(s) up to a maximum of 1000 items. You can also search by specific search categories such as subject headings, titles, date, or author names in Quick Search and Advanced Search.

For all Quick Search categories except for Quick Search - Keyword Anywhere (automatic AND) the terms entered are searched as a phrase.

If the 'hits' are too large, you will need to add terms or pick more specific terms. You can also select Advanced Search to combine terms using Boolean AND, OR, NOT. In general, for new topics, search as simply as you can. Many times, this is sufficient to give you sufficient clues for additional searches.

For eTK/eVK2 collection searches, use of the final truncation symbol “?” enables the user to search for a Latin word with multiple possible inflected endings. Also searches that employ word groups will produce the most reliable results.

For Index-Catalogue collection searching because of the differences between series and lack of authority control on names, some trial and error searches may be necessary. If you are searching using modern subject terminology, you may need to think about earlier terminology for the subject or broader terms. For 18th and 19th century concepts, there may be no direct subject heading equivalent. It may also be necessary to search on related disease headings or by symptoms. Spelling of subject headings in Series 1-3 includes 'ae' and 'oe' ligatures: Fœtus; Brain (Fœtal); Gynæcology; Hospitals (Gynæcologic and obstetric). Search these as the letters 'ae' and 'oe'.

See: Quick Search Help: http://indexcat.nlm.nih.gov/logicrouter/help36ui/quick.htm
Advanced Search Help: http://indexcat.nlm.nih.gov/logicrouter/help36ui/advanced.htm

For more search instructions, see IndexCat Help: http://indexcat.nlm.nih.gov/logicrouter/help36ui/icatcontents.htm

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/icsearch.html