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Overview | Searching for resources | Search Tips | FAQs

You can search for resources by entering search criteria. You can also choose to widen or narrow your search by combining the specified keywords with other criteria, such as category, survey year, etc.

 
Widening Your Search

A wide search encompasses a wide range of resources. Use this technique when your original search did not yield any results or if you want a longer list of results.

To widen your search, follow these tips:

Search Technique Example Results
Type only one word in the Question Text field

keyword: nicotine

The system displays resources containing the word nicotine

In the Quick Search, enter several words in the Question Text field and select the "with any of the words" option.

keywords = nicotine addiction

select "with any of the words"

 



The system displays resources containing the words nicotine or addiction

In the Advanced Search, enter several words in the Question Text field and select the "with any of the words" option. Select All in the Category field and select all the available keywords. Select All in the Survey field and select all the available survey years.

keywords = nicotine addiction

select "with any of the words"

Category = All

Select all the keywords

Survey = All

Select all the survey years.

 



The system displays resources containing the words nicotine or addiction for all categories and all survey years.

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Narrowing Your Search

Use a narrow search if you have a specific set of criteria to meet, or when the original search displayed too many resources in the results. The more search criteria you enter, the narrower your search will be, and the less the number of results that will be displayed.

To narrow your search, follow these tips:

Search Technique Example Results
Type several words in the Question Text field and select the "with all of the words" option.

keywords = nicotine addiction

select "with any of the words"

 



The system displays resources containing the words nicotine and addiction

In the Advanced Search, enter several words in the Question Text field and select the "with all of the words" option. Select a category in the Category field and select a keyword. Select a survey in the Survey field and select a year.

keywords = nicotine addiction

Select "with all of the words"

Category = Cessation

Keyword = Cigarette

Survey = ATS - Adult Tobacco Survey

Survey year = 2002

The system displays resources containing the words nicotine and addiction in the Cigarette Cessation category for the 2002 ATS - Adult Tobacco Survey.

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Using multiple keywords in the Question Text field

If you enter multiple words in the Question Text field and enter words such as OR or AND between the words, the system ignores these words and performs the search based on which one of the following two options you selected: "with all of the words" or "with any of the words". For example, if you enter "Nicotine AND Addiction" in the Question Text field but select the "with any of the words" option, the system searches for and displays resources that contain either Nicotine or Addiction. If you enter "with all of the words" in the Question Text field but select the "with all of the words" option, the system searches for and displays resources that contain both Nicotine and Addiction.

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Punctuation marks

The system ignores all punctuation marks entered in the Question Text field. For example, if you enter "nicotine, addiction; quit attempts" as your search criteria, the system drops the comma and semicolon and treats the search as if you entered "nicotine addiction quit attempts". The comma and semicolon will also not appear at the top of the Search Results page as part of your search criteria.

If you enter a punctuation mark other than a comma or semicolon, such as a question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!), the system displays a warning at the top of the search results informing you that the punctuation mark has been removed from the search.

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