Search Tips

Below are some key tips when searching Discovery

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• Keep it simple! Use short, single terms unless your searches are returning too many results.
• Use quotes to search for an entire phrase -- e.g., "protein folding".
• Except for boolean operators, searches are not case-sensitive, so "Geneva" and "geneva" are equivalent
• Consider various keywords before searching as the results can vary dramatically based on the words used.
• Drill down on the search results and explore the linked data across Discovery: Once you have searched, use the "Limit display by" section on the right side of the results page to explore the results by people, organizations or research. You can click on research link to continue drilling into more detailed categories of research output; such as Articles, Grants. Once you have clicked on the specific research item, you will be taken to the details of a research output. You can continue exploring the linked data by clicking on the related profile of the link for the related Discovery profile.
• Start with the last name or the full first and last name together (instead of an abbreviated name) when searching for a person. For instance, enter either 'Einstein' or 'Albert Einstein' instead of 'Al Einstein'.
• If you are unsure of the correct spelling, put ~ at the end of your search term -- e.g., cabage~ finds cabbage, steven~ finds Stephen and Stefan (as well as other similar names).

Advanced Tips

• When you enter more than one term, search will return results containing all of them unless you add the Boolean "OR" -- e.g., chicken OR egg.
• NOT" can help limit searches -- e.g., climate NOT change.
• Phrase searches may be combined with Boolean operators -- e.g. "climate change" OR "global warming".
• Close word variations will also be found -- e.g., sequence matches sequences and sequencing.
• Use the wildcard * character to match an even wider variation -- e.g., nano* will match both nanotechnology and nanofabrication.
• Search uses shortened versions of words -- e.g., a search for cogniti* finds nothing, while cognit* finds both cognitive and cognition.

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