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Scopus

This is an introduction to the different features in the Scopus database.

Additional Tips

Searching Tips

Operator Use Example
OR At least one term must appear liver OR cirrhosis
AND Both terms must appear addiction AND behavior
AND NOT Exclude one term lung AND NOT cancer
" " Loose phrase search, looks for words together, but will include singular/plurals and wildcards "addictive behavior" - will also search for "addiction behaviors"
{ } Exact phrase search, looks for the exact phrase or word {color} - will return color, not colour
* Wildcard search, looks for the root word and alternate endings or beginnings Enxym* - will return enzyme, enzymes, enzymatic, and enzymology
? Wildcard search, looks for the word with any single character in place of the ? ?NA - will retrieve RNA or DNA
W/# Proximity search, terms must be # number of words near each other, in any order

zika W/2 virus - "zika" must be within 2 words of "virus" 
PRE/# Proximity search, terms must be # number of words near each other, in a order "whole genome" PRE/4 sequence - "whole genome" must be within 4 words of "sequence" with " whole genome" coming first

Chart was adapted from Reed College Library: Database Help: Scopus

Subject Headings

Scopus does not have subject headings. 

Field Codes

Why Use Field Codes

Scopus cannot search the full text. Instead, it searches on several other fields to help with searching. These field codes can help further refine a search. 

Field codes worth noting:

  • TITLE-ABS(your search here) - Title or Abstract
  • TITLE(your search here) - Title
  • AUTH(your search here) - Author
  • AUTHFIRST(your search here) - First author
  • FUND-ALL(your search here) - Funding Information
  •  

It is often recommended to limit your search to Title or Abstract. 

Using Field Codes

You can view the full list of field codes on both basic search and in advanced search.

Field Codes in Basic Search

In basic search, you click the downward arrow in the "Search within" box. This will show you a full list of all the field codes available. 

 

Field Codes in Advanced Search

In Advanced search you will identify the field code you wish to use then click "+" to add it to your search document. 

 

Next you would add your search within the set of parentheses and click "Search" When doing a Boolean search, Scopus insists that parentheses be used correctly.  If you get a message about a Syntax Error, check your (( )). 

That's it, you have completed a search using field codes in advanced search!

Combining Searches

Combining searches can be helpful when you want to build a more comprehensive search strategy. Searches can be combined using AND, OR, or AND NOT. When you combine searches using AND you will narrow your results. When you combine searches using OR you will broaden your results. AND NOT will exclude those keywords from your search.

 

1. To combine searches, you will have to go to basic search. This will show all your recent search history. You will need to me logged in in order to view your search history. If you have not created an account, check out Creating an Account for more details.

 

2. Next, you will want to select the searches you want to combine. Then click "Combine Queries." If you do not have a search history, you will first need to search on your key concepts.

 

3. This is where you will want to identify what operator you want to combine with AND, OR, or AND NOT. 

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. 
  • Use AND NOT to exclude specific keywords from your search, but use it with caution as you might miss relevant information

Once you have chosen the appropriate operator, you can click "Show Results"

Filters

Users can limit the number of results generated by a search by using filters. Filters can be found on the left-hand side of the search results screen, once a search has been completed. 

 

Some of the filters worth noting include:

  • Publication date
  • Document type
  • Language
  • Country/territory
  • Open access