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Which AgeLine Search Screen Is Best for Me?


Knowing which search screen is best for a particular search can enhance the accuracy and efficiency of your information retrieval.



The Four AgeLine Search Screens in Brief
(Scroll down to view extended explanations of each.)

Screen
Features
Advantages
Basic Search One search box.

Can link search terms only with Boolean OR within the search box.

Automatic truncation after 7th letter of words that are 7 letters or longer.		 Best for someone who is new to searching AgeLine; has a simple, one-concept search; or is not sure whether AgeLine contains the information being sought.
Advanced Search Three search boxes that can be linked with Boolean AND, OR, or NOT.

Automatically adds truncation symbol (*) at end of each word or part of a word that is 5 letters or longer to aid retrieval of various forms of each word.		 Provides enhanced flexibility and specificity in searching.
Multiple-Options Search Searcher can browse and paste from lists of titles, journal/magazine titles, authors, and subjects. Automatic Boolean AND between each search box. Enables the searcher to quickly search for a particular title, journal/magazine title, author, or subject.
Advanced Subject Search Three search boxes can link subject keywords with Boolean AND, OR, or NOT. Subjects may be browsed and pasted. Best for searching subjects that are likely to bring up hundreds or thousands of records. Searching is done using a controlled terminology. Offers the most precision in searching the database but requires more up-front time in choosing search subjects.


General Principles for Searching

1. When beginning your search session in any of the search screens, queries with fewer words (1-2) generally will retrieve more items than those with more words. Once you have cast the widest possible net, the search can be narrowed by adding words in the search box(es), using the Limit Results boxes at the bottom of the search screens, or using the Advanced screen options.
2. If you have a complex query, use the Advanced Search or Advanced Subject Search screens to key separate concepts into different search query boxes.

3. AgeLine describes books, reports, and articles with substantive information and statistical data, so your chances of finding a specific "factoid" in the database are much less than finding sources of substantive information that you can then obtain and read in depth. For example, rather than keying in a query such as "the three states with the highest percentage of older adults," it is better to try an approach such as the following in the Advanced Subject Search screen:

statistical data
AND
state
AND
population aging

4. Certain aging-related words are ignored by the search engine in the Basic Search and Advanced Search and also in the Any Word search box on the Multiple-Options Search screen. Thus, if you are using one of these searches, searching on the following terms will not retrieve any items unless you include it in a phrase with other searchable words:

   older, elderly (but not elder), aged (but not aging), adults (but not adult), senior, seniors

These words are not ignored in the Advanced Subject Search and in the Title, Journal Title, Author, and Subject boxes on the Multiple-Options Search screen.

Basic Search Screen

If you have a simple, one-concept search and are new to searching AgeLine or are unsure whether AgeLine contains information you are seeking, it is best to start with the Basic Search screen. The Basic Search screen allows you to search one topic, represented by a word or short phrase, or several topics, each separated by a semicolon that operates as a Boolean OR to broaden your search. For more information, see the Help Topic Using Boolean Operators to Search AgeLine. We recommend using the Advanced Search screens for more complex search queries and for refining your search once you have viewed the structure and content of AgeLine using the Basic Search.

The Basic Search screen automatically looks for all words identical up to the first 7 letters of each word of your search query. Each word in a phrase is separated by an automatic Boolean NEAR that locates words within 5 words of each other in either direction. Thus, before you key in your query, you should be reasonably confident that the words in your search query are likely to appear quite close together within a document summary or as a keyword subject, title, or author.

For best results when first starting your search, use one or two words in your search query. After viewing the results, if you have too many items, add one or two more words in the search box to narrow your results or use the Limit Results boxes at the bottom of the screen. If you do not have enough items, try shortening your query or using several similar topics or synonyms separated by semicolons to pull up more items.

Examples
Broad (many retrieved) Narrower Even Narrower
retirement retirement planning retirement planning programs
long term care long term care insurance private long term care insurance
taxes income taxes state income taxes


If you have a complex query, such as "Medicare coverage for those with disabilities," try using the Advanced screens, which are set up to allow you to break up your query into several parts and connect them with Boolean operators. This search query would work best if broken down into three separate concepts--Medicare, disabilities, and coverage--on the Advanced Search screen. A long search query (5 or more words) in the Basic Search screen could retrieve zero results even though AgeLine might have many items with useful and relevant information on that topic. See the Help Topic Why Am I Getting Zero Results? for more information.

If you know the exact title of a document, the Basic Search screen will work reasonably well, but for best results use the Title box on the Multiple-Options screen and enter only words you are sure appear in the title.

All of the search screens offer options for limiting your results by publication year, document type (book, chapter, journal article), audience type (research, general/consumer, public policy, and professional/provider), and the maximum number of records you want to display.


Multiple-Options Search Screen:
Searching by Title, Journal Title, Author, Subject, or Any Word

Use this screen if you are looking for a particular title, journal or magazine title, author, or subject. As an added enhancement, you can browse AgeLine's index and then paste exact titles, journal/magazine titles, author names, and subjects directly into the search boxes to eliminate the possibility of misspellings and typographic errors.

This search screen automatically links each of the search boxes with a Boolean AND so that you can quickly find, for example, a book written by a particular author, all of the documents written by an author on a particular subject, or all of the articles in a particular journal or magazine that are on a particular topic.


Advanced Search Screen

This search screen uses search specifications that are similar to (but not identical with) the Basic Search screen and offers enhanced flexibility and specificity because it contains three search boxes rather than only one. As with the Basic Search screen, this search screen allows you to freely search for a "hit" (the desired topic or name) in any of the searchable AgeLine fields (the title, author, journal title, abstract [summary], and subject fields). This can be particularly helpful for emerging topics or for those searching for all possible mentions of a particular topic or name.

A long search query, such as "use of advance directives in hospitals and nursing homes," can be broken up into several concepts and entered into each search query box on the Advanced Search screen.

Example

advance directives
AND
hospitals
OR
nursing homes

The three boxes search AgeLine by looking for your query in any of the searchable fields; the searches in each box are linked with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) of your choice. You may find after using the Basic Search screen that you can achieve better results by using the Advanced Search screen, either by narrowing your search (using Boolean NOT), broadening your search (using Boolean OR), or pairing several concepts together (using Boolean AND).

The search engine for the Advanced Search screen automatically places a truncation command at the end of any word that is 5 letters or longer and automatically connects words within a search phrase with a Boolean NEAR command. This is designed to capture various forms of a word. For words that are 5 letters or longer, type the singular or root form of a word to capture the various forms of the words. For words that have fewer than 5 letters, type the various forms or synonyms of the word or phrase, with each separated by a semicolon.

Examples
advance directive RETRIEVES advance directive
advance directives
grandparent right RETRIEVES grandparent rights
grandparents' rights
rights of grandparents
baby boom; baby boomer RETRIEVES baby boom
baby boomer
baby boomers


Advanced Subject Search

This search screen offers the most precision in searching the AgeLine database but also requires more up-front time to choose subjects from the subject index or from AgeLine's Thesaurus of Aging Terminology. (AgeLine editors assign 6-15 subject keywords to each record in order to describe the major focus of each book, chapter, or article. Subject keywords provide a controlled terminology to help ensure that similar items are indexed using the same subject keyword.)

The BROWSE SUBJECTS buttons on this screen allow you to browse the subject index, which contains the terms in AgeLine's Thesaurus of Aging Terminology. From the subject index screen, you can paste your choice of subject keywords directly into the Advanced Subject Search screen. If you have the AgeLine Thesaurus of Aging Terminology, 6th Edition, you can look for terms in it and key them directly into the subject search boxes.

Similar to the Advanced Search, this search screen allows you to pair two or more search concepts by using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) between the separate search boxes. Subject searching is particularly helpful for topics that bring up hundreds of records (for example, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Long Term Care, and Retirement Planning), resulting in a need to pull out only those with a major focus on the topic.

All search boxes above the Limit Results boxes in all four of the search screens allow a semicolon between words or phrases to activate the Boolean OR command.



SAMPLE SEARCH QUERIES
AND SUGGESTED SEARCH STRATEGIES

You want to find:
Which screen?
Suggested initial search strategy
everything in the database on baby boomers Use Basic Search (to start) In search box:

baby boom; baby boomer; baby boomers
everything in the database on employment discrimination or age discrimination (older adults) Use Basic Search (to start) In search box:

employment discrimination; age discrimination
everything in the database on assisted living Use Basic Search (to start) In search box:

assisted living
estate planning for Medicaid Use Advanced Subject Search In search boxes:

estate planning
AND
Medicaid
data on health care expenditures Use Advanced Search In search box:

health care expend

(automatically adds truncation symbol to search specification for a word or root of a word that is 5 letters or longer)
statistics on the demographic characteristics of baby boomers Use Advanced Subject Search In search boxes:

statistical data
AND
baby boom generation
AND
demographic characteristics
data on future trends or projections for the 21st century concerning _____

For example: What is the projected income of retirees after 2000?		 Use Advanced Search or Advanced Subject Search In search boxes:

projection; statistical data
AND
retirement income
information on the signs of mental deterioration Use the Advanced Subject Search In search boxes:

personal guides
AND
cognitive impairment

or

professional guides
AND
cognitive impairment
data on the population of older Americans in the United States Use Advanced Subject Search In search boxes:

statistical data
AND
population; population aging
AND
United States
history of assisted living Use Advanced Search In search boxes:

history; overview
AND
assisted living


For more detailed information on these search screens, see the following Help Topics:

Tips for Using Basic Search Screen
Tips for Using Multiple-Options Search Screen: Searching by Title, Journal Title, Author, Subject, or  Any Word
Tips for Using Advanced Search Screen
Tips for Using Advanced Subject Search Screen


Help Topics [an error occurred while processing this directive]