Using CLICnet: Keyword Basics
Using CLICnet: Keyword Basics
OVERVIEW
CLICnet offers basic and advanced keyword searching. Do you know how to use the flexibility of keyword searching to your advantage?
BASIC
This option is the default CLICnet search. Your terms are found in the various title, author, subject, contents, notes, and performer fields as a phrase. Successful searches will match all terms and displays the resulting bib record or a list of titles. Your search terms are redlighted in bibliographic records.
In addition to phrase searches, you can search for the presence of multiple words that are not adjacent to each other by inserting "and" between them.
ADVANCED
This option is the second tab on CLICnet's main search page. Modifying a basic keyword search also goes to the advanced keyword search.
In addition to the standard building location and material format limits, advanced keyword searching offers two additional options.
- In the left column, you can narrow the fields to search from "any field" to only the "title," "author," "subject," or "note" fields.
- In the right column, you can apply Boolean operators, "and," "and not," or "or" to your search criteria.
Keyword can help you search CLICnet more efficiently, but be careful - you can also sabotage your results. Use the following comparison examples to help understand the benefits and pitfalls. Contact a reference librarian for more assistance.
Comparison examples
BASIC KEYWORD: How many titles are retrieved when searching by phrase and with "and"?
by phrase
with "and" between
1. Brahms Requiem
2. Medieval music
3. Beethoven sonat*
(Add * to the end of a root word to pickup variant spellings, like sonata, sonatas, sonaten, etc.)
4. Sor Etudes
ADVANCED KEYWORD: How many titles are retrieved in the following modified index searches? How is each index different?
| Any | Author | Title | Subject | Note | |
| 1. Beethoven: | |||||
| 2. Monteverdi: |
How many titles are retrieved in the following modified Boolean searches?
- Example 1 -- Searching "Music" and "Renaissance" retrieves _____ titles. Adding "and not (Harlem)" increases or decreases the number of titles?
- Example 2 -- Search "(Music and Medieval) or (music and Middle Ages)". How many results were retrieved? Now try "(Music) and (Medieval) or (Middle Ages)". Of the three strategies you tried on this page, which is most effective?
- Example 3 -- Search "(Beethoven and sonata*) and not (piano)". Compare this to the above answer.
Can you think of other ways you can use these tools?
updated Fall 2004
