Scopus

This page is intended to provide step-by-step guidance to creating a search in Scopus. Check out our Guide to the Basics. This goes over Boolean operators and how to use them. 

Some things to remember before you start:

• There are three basic Boolean operators: AND, OR, and NOT
  • AND combines search terms so that each search result contains all of the terms.
  • OR combines search terms so that each search result contains at least one of the terms.
  • NOT excludes terms so that each search result does not contain any of the terms that follow it.
    • Notes: Scopus uses AND NOT instead of NOT
• Break your question down into key concepts, then put those concepts inside parentheses.
• Quotation marks allow for words to be searched on together
  • Instead of searching for mental health, use "mental health"
• Asterisks allow for truncation and will catch all endings of a word
  • Instead of searching for (child OR children OR childhood), use (child*)

Checkout Additional Tips for more information on operator usage in Scopus.

Scopus Search

There are multiple ways to search within Scopus. Below there are step-by-step instructions on how to use Basic Search and Advanced Document Search.

The search screen below is the starting point for a basic search in Scopus. These boxes help create a search using Boolean logic. Each box can be used to search on different concepts. Scopus defaults to one search box, but you can add as many boxes as you need by clicking "Add Search Field"

This will be our example research question: Does caffeine have an effect on children?

Analyze your research question and identify what your main key concepts are. Each box will contain a separate key concept. Remember to add as many similar terms as possible or synonyms with an "OR" to each concept to help broaden your search results. This example question has two main key concepts: Caffeine AND Children. Therefore, this search will require two boxes. 

Step-by-Step:

1. Start with your first concept and add that to the first box. Identify all keyword(s) or phrase(s). Remember to build your search using Boolean Operators. Check out our Guide to the Basics for more information on how to use them. Once you've added all your keywords for your first key concept, you can do the same for the second key concept. Continue to do this until you have added a box for all your key concepts.

If you don't identify any field codes, Scopus will default to searching Title, Abstract, and Keywords. This will search for articles where your words appear in those specific fields.  You can also try limiting the search to title and abstract only. See Field Codes for more details. 

2.  Next you will combine your key concepts. This is where you will want to identify what operator you want to combine with AND or OR.

Remember:

• Use AND to find results that contain all of the specified search terms. 
• Use OR to find results that contain at least one of the specified search terms, including synonyms or variations of a concept. 

In this example we will combine box 1 and box 2 so AND would be the best option. Click "Search" to see your results.

That's it; you have completed a basic search! You should now be able to view your results.

On the Advanced Document Search, you can create a search using field codes, proximity operators, or Boolean operators to narrow the scope of the search.

To create an advanced search, Click "Advanced Document Search" from the main search page

In Document search you can begin to builder your search. You can select from a variety of search fields including article title, abstract, keyword, author name, publication date, and references. All field code options can be viewed on the right-hand side. You can also view the Boolean operators on the right-hand side. For an in-depth tutorial on how to use document search, check out Scopus' tutorial: How to use advanced search tutorial

To search for keywords in an article's title or abstract, type in TITLE-ABS before your search terms. Be sure to use parentheses! 

For example:

• This is correct: (TITLE-ABS(children OR pediatrics)) 
• This is not correct: TITLE-ABS children OR pediatrics

When doing a Boolean search, Scopus insists that parentheses be used correctly. If you get a message about a Syntax Error, check your (( )). Scopus needs Boolean operators to be capitalized. To exclude in Scopus, you must use AND NOT (not just  NOT).