CINAHL: Advanced Search

The Advantage of Advanced Search

Advanced Search has some advantages over Basic Search.  Advanced Search lets you choose which field(s) to search in.  You can look for keywords in a title, an author's name, a subject heading or many other options versus just anywhere in the article.  Advanced Search also has a vast array of search limits far beyond what's available in Basic Search.

Advanced Search

In Advanced Search, you will automatically start off with three search boxes.  You can simply type in your search terms and hit enter or you can choose what field to start by utilizing the Select a Field dropdown.  You can search by title, author, subject heading, etc.  You can also search in multiple fields by entering a different term in each search box and picking separate fields.  Each separate search box is connect by a drop down Boolean connector.  You can connect your search fields by AND, OR, NOT. (Check out the section on Boolean Searching on the Search Tips page)  You can add more search boxes (+) if necessary.

Advanced Search Options and Limits

The search limits for Advanced Search are much more extensive than those for Basic Search.  They are primarily meant for more scholarly, in-depth research.  To see what each option means, mouse over the 'i' next to it and a box will pop up with an explanation.