Search Research Materials
Search Tips
In general you can use the search box much like you would use Google's search box. You can type in a set of words and each must be found in some field in the database for the result to be a match.
However, there are some advanced features you can use to enhance the precision of your query.
Below is a list of features with an example or two on how they can be used to search our collections.
| Type | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fields | title:change author:sticht keyword:fiction subject:"classroom materials" |
Any words not prefixed with a field name will be searched across all fields. See the table below for a complete list of fields available. |
| Booleans | (literacy OR report) AND sticht | 'AND' and 'OR' must be in all caps; use parenthesis for precedence |
| Wildcards | l?teracy literac* |
Use '?' for single character wildcards, and '*' for multi-character wildcards. Wildcards cannot be first character, e.g. '*libraries' will not work |
| Required values | +author:sticht +title:change +title:literacy -subject:aboriginal |
'+' before term is like 'AND', '-' before term is like 'NOT' |
| Phrases | "workplace literacy" | Use quotes to search for phrases |
| Relevance boost | title:workplace^2 author:sticht | |
| Edit distance | literacy~ libraries~0.8 |
Single words only; if unspecified, defaults to 0.5 |
| Proximity | "workplace literacy"~10 [both 'workplace' and 'literacy' within 10 words] | Only works with quoted phrases; '~' also used for edit distance (see 'Edit distance' above) |
| Ranges | title:{literacy TO workplace} title:[literacy TO workplace] |
use '[]' for inclusive, '{}' exclusive |
| Combinations | sticht AND title:{literacy TO workplace} |
Fields Available
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| title | A resource's title |
| author | |
| subtitle | A resource's subtitle |
| isbn | |
| publication_date | The resource's year of publication |
| annotation | |
| series | |
| subject | View a list of subjects for the current collection(s) |
| keyword | View a list of keywords for the current collection(s) |
Search Contents of Documents
By default, the NALD Library only searches for documents based on a particular set of fields (title, author, subject, summary, etc). To search for documents based on these, as well as their actual content, check the box labelled "Search contents of Documents".
Icon Legend
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Conveys a document's relevancy to the searched query. |
 |
Denotes a document conforming to the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) AA standard. |
 |
Denotes a document conforming to Accessible Adobe PDF standards. |
 |
Conveys a rating given by the Software Evaluation Project. |
 |
Conveys a rating given by the Community Academic Services Program (CASP). |
|
Denotes the various formats in which a document may be downloaded (HTML, PDF and Microsoft Word respectively). |
© 2012 National Adult Literacy Database
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This project is funded by the Government of Canada’s
Office of Literacy and Essential Skills.
Office of Literacy and Essential Skills.
