Accessing Advanced Search
You can access Advanced Search from the law library homepage:
Or from the Advanced Search link next to the Search box:
Advanced Search Tips
Advanced Search gives you more control over your search.
Begin by selecting your search scope:
Utilize the search filters to narrow your search.
Some of the available filters include:
- Any field: keyword search across any/all fields
- Title: keyword search for a Title
- Author/Creator: keyword search for an Author/Creator
- Subject: keyword search within a Subject
- ISSN: search for a specific ISSN
- Contains: the results will contain your search term(s)
- Contains exact phrase: the results will contain your search terms as an exact phrase
- Starts with: the results will start with your search terms
- Equals exact phrase: the results will include only items with your search terms as an exact phrase
Say you want to search for the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee utilizing the Advanced Search. You decide to select "Title" in the first field and to kill a mockingbird as your search terms. But what should you select in the middle field?
- Title contains to kill a mockingbird is the broadest search. Your results will include the book you're looking for, but because it's looking for the search terms anywhere in the title, the results include "Mockingbird grows up, re-reading Harper Lee since Watchman"
- Title contains exact phrase to kill a mockingbird is a bit more focused. Now every result includes the phrase to kill a mockingbird in the title. But if you're looking for the book by Harper Lee, you'll find it, but you'll also be getting extraneous results like "Reading Harper Lee: understanding To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman"
- Title starts with to kill a mockingbird is even more focused. The results include the book you're looking for and very few additional titles - only those that start with the phrase to kill a mockingbird, such as "To kill a mockingbird: a graphic novel".
- Title equals exact phrase to kill a mockingbird returns only the book, in a variety of formats.
Search Tip: try your search more than once! If "contains" yields too many results, try "contains exact phrase". If "equals exact phrase" yields 0 results, try "contains exact phrase" instead.