1. The default search options in Web of Science are "Database: Web of Science Core Collection", "Search Field: All Fields", and "Publication Date: all years (1900-present)". To change any of these selections, click on the drop down menu for the field you wish to change.
Tip: Searching "All Databases" allows the search to include Medline, the major component of PubMed database. The default search field for "All Databases" is Topic.
2. To add more search fields, click the add row option below the search box. When the new row is added, select the operator that will join your search fields; the default operator is AND. Also, change the field type if needed; the default field type is All Fields.
3. Default sort mode is relevance; use the Sort by drop down menu at the top of the results to change sort options.
4. To refine search results, use the options in the Refine Results column to the left of the search results.
5. To receive search alerts for six months, click the Create Alert link to the right of the search box.
Web of Science Core Collection Reference Guide
1. To conduct an advanced search, select the advanced search link below the search box.
2. Build your search using the field tag options and Boolean operators listed to the right of the search box. You can change the search database using the search in drop down menu above the advanced search box. You can add a date range using the link below the advanced search box.
Use the Researchers tab to search for author records and profiles of researchers across the Web of Science Core Collection. Researcher Search helps identify articles likely authored by the same person and view profiles for those authors that contain metrics and other scholarly activity (for example, peer review).
Web of Science searching allows the use of the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT, as well as the proximity operator NEAR.
Use AND to include two or more search terms; results of these boolean searches will include all the search terms.
Example: the search "patellar luxation" AND dogs will yield article results that contain both the phrase patellar luxation and the term dogs.
Use OR to find results that include one or the other search term, as well as both search terms.
Example: the search inguinal hernia OR perineal hernia will yield article results that contain the terms inguinal hernia or the terms perineal hernia, as well as articles with all the terms.
Use NOT to exclude a term from your search results.
Example: the search umbilical hernia NOT dogs will yield article results with the terms umbilical hernia that do not contain the term dogs.
The boolean proximity operator NEAR allows you to search for terms that are located near each other; the terms can appear in any order in the articles retrieved. Use the search NEAR/x to indicate the maximum number of words between your search terms. If you want to incorporate a phrase in a proximity search, put the phrase in quotations.
Example: the search rabies NEAR/5 rabbits will yield article results in which the terms rabies rabbits appear within five words of each other in the title or article abstract.
For more information, see the Web of Science Search Operators page.
By placing quotation marks around a phrase, your search results will be limited to those results that include the exact phrase specified in the quotations.
Including quotations in a phrase search will often yield fewer results.
Example: To find articles that include the specific phrase caprine arthritis encephalitis, use the search "caprine arthritis encephalitis". Without quotations the search yields 790 results, with quotations, the search yields 724 results.
In Web of Science, apostrophes are not treated as searchable characters; they are treated as spaces. To find all variants of a term that includes an apostrophe, search the term with and without an apostrophe.
Example: the search Paget's OR Pagets yields results that include the term with or without an apostrophe.
Use parentheses to compound Boolean searches.
Example: the search (inguinal hernia OR perineal hernia) AND dogs yields article results with the terms inguinal hernia and/or perineal hernia that also include the term dogs.
For more information, see the Web of Science Search Rules page.
Use an asterisk symbol (*) to represent any number of characters or no character.
Example: the search microb* yields results for the terms microbe, microbial, microbiota, microbiome, microbiologists, microbiology, etc.
Use a question mark symbol (?) to represent a single character.
Example: the search organi?ation yields results for the terms organization and organisation.
Use the dollar sign symbol ($) to represent no character or a single character.
Example: the search leuk$emia yields results for the terms leukemia and leukaemia.
For more information, see the Web of Science Wildcards page.