Command Search

Command search allows you to create search queries that produce fewer, more targeted search results.

Using Command Search

The Command Search page enables you to enter a free-form search query. You can enter a maximum of 25 search terms per search clause, use proximity operators, and exert more control over the order in which expressions are evaluated.

To access the Command Search page, click on Advanced Search under the Global Search box and select the tab.

1. In the Command Search area, click in the text box. If desired, limit your search by using the Data Fields drop-down menu to select a field or by entering the field name in quotation marks followed by a colon (for example, "Authors":). IEEE Xplore looks for a keyword in all fields (metadata) unless you limit the search to specific fields.
2. If you specified a field name, enter a value for the field (for example, "Authors":jones). Otherwise, enter a keyword. The keyword can be a subject term, name, or phrase. If you are unsure of the spelling, you can use an asterisk (*) wildcard or question mark (?) wildcard. See Searching with Wildcard Characters for more details. If you want to search specifically for a phrase, enclose the phrase in quotation marks (for example, "Document Title":"web services" finds documents with the exact phrase web services in the title). If you enter a phrase but do not enclose it in quotation marks, IEEE Xplore uses the AND operator to search for the keywords (for example, "Document Title":web services finds documents with the word web and the word services in the title either singularly or as a phrase). IEEE Xplore searches for items regardless of capitalization. See Entering Search Keywords for additional rules governing entry of search keywords.
3. Combine multiple search expressions as needed. Use the Operators drop-down menu to define the relationship between search expressions, using the following syntax:
   
   search_expression <operator> search_expression
   
   where search_expression is "field name":value or keyword (including keyword 1 keyword 2 ... keywordn or "keyword phrase") and <operator> is an operator listed in the Operators drop-down menu. If you choose to type the operator, use all capital letters (AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, ONEAR).
   
   For example, the following search expressions look for either the phrase radio frequency identification or the abbreviation rfid in document titles:
   
   
   
   Note: You cannot use parentheses to nest search terms when using the OR operator within a data field. Thus, "Document Title":("radio frequency identification" OR rfid) is not a valid search; the valid search is "Document Title":"radio frequency identification" OR "Document Title":rfid. You can then use parentheses to nest this search string. For example, ("Document Title":"radio frequency identification" OR "Document Title":rfid) AND scheduling.
4. Click . IEEE Xplore looks through the database records and presents a list of results matching your query. The subscription identifier icon indicates articles where you have access to full text.

Summary of Data Fields

Data fields identify specific parts of a document record. By limiting a search to a specific field (or metadata), you can reduce the time it takes to process the search and produce more targeted results. Here are the data fields you can use in advanced search and/or command search.

Note: In Command Search, remember to enclose the field name in quotation marks, and use a colon to separate the field name from the field value you want to search for; for example, "Document Title":rfid.

Summary of Search Operators

Search operators are elements that express relationships between search terms or search expressions, or that otherwise modify a query. In structured advanced searching, you can use the logical operators AND, OR, and NOT. In command searching, you can use these operators plus NEAR (for unordered proximity searches) and ONEAR (for ordered proximity searches), as described in the table below.

The order of precedence for Boolean operators is:

1. NEAR / ONEAR
2. NOT
3. AND
4. OR

You can use parentheses to change the default precedence.