VOCEDplus help > Searching FAQs
Q: How do I enter search terms in the basic search box?
You can type one or more search terms into the basic search box on the home page. The default BOOLEAN operator between terms is 'OR'. This means that if you enter more than one search term, the search will look for items that contain at least one of the terms entered. To retrieve only those items that contain ALL search terms, type the word 'AND' between each search term. To exclude a term from your search, type 'NOT' between the search terms. To search for a phrase, enclose the words within double quotation marks.
Q: How do I search for multiple terms?
You can use BOOLEAN operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine search terms in the basic search box on the home page.
You can also search for multiple terms in specific fields using either the Guided Search or Expert Search options via the links underneath the search box on the home page. The Guided Search displays two search rows, if more rows are needed, they can be added by clicking on 'Add one more'. Select the field you want to search in and enter the search term, or terms, in the search box. Use the appropriate BOOLEAN operator (AND, OR, NOT) or enclose search terms within double quotation marks to search for a phrase.
When you enter search terms in multiple rows, you can determine how subsequent rows are to be combined with the previous row by selecting a BOOLEAN operator (AND, OR, NOT) from the drop-down list that appears between the fields.
For example, to search for publications co-authored by Phil Loveder and John Stanwick, select 'Authors (All)' from the drop-down list of fields for the first row and enter "loveder phil" as the search term (no capitalisation or punctuation other than the double quotation marks is needed). In the next row, select 'Authors (All)' from the drop-down list, type in "stanwick john" and leave the BOOLEAN operator as AND. Click the 'Search' button to run the search.
For further information on searching, including how to use the Expert Search, view the 'Searching VOCEDplus' user guide on the 'Help' page.
Q: What are BOOLEAN operators
BOOLEAN operators are words or symbols used to connect two or more search terms. In VOCEDplus, you can use:
- AND to narrow a search to only find those items that contain ALL the search terms entered. For example, searching for youth AND unemployment will find all items that contain both youth and unemployment
- OR to broaden a search to find those items that contain at least one of the search terms entered. For example, searching for youth OR unemployment will find items that contain either youth or unemployment
- NOT to exclude terms from a search. For example, searching for youth NOT unemployment will find all items that contain youth but not unemployment.
In VOCEDplus, if no BOOLEAN operator is provided, the search will default to OR.
Q: How do I search in one or more specific fields?
VOCEDplus offers two options for searching in a single specific field or combining fields. These can be accessed via the 'Guided Search' and 'Expert Search' links below the basic search box on the home page.
- Using the first option, the 'Guided Search', you can search in the following fields: Anywhere; Abstract; Authors (All); Geographic subject; ISBN; ISSN; Journal title; Publisher; Series name; Titles (All); VOCEDplus Subjects/Keywords; Year published. Select the required field from the drop-down list of fields and type your search term(s) in the adjacent search box.
If your search terms contain multiple words, use the relevant BOOLEAN operator: use AND to find items that contain all search terms; OR to find terms that contain at least one of the search terms; use NOT to exclude terms; or use double quotation marks " " to search for words as a phrase.
You can combine search terms in different fields using AND, OR, NOT from the drop-down list between the search boxes. You also have the option to add more rows to include more fields in your search. For example, to search for publications authored by Phil Loveder on pathways, select 'Authors (All)' from the drop-down list in the first row and type "phil loveder" in the adjacent search box. Then select 'VOCEDplus Subjects/Keywords' from the drop-down list in the second row and type the search term 'pathways'. Check that the BOOLEAN operator for combining the fields is set to AND then click the 'Search' button to run the search.
- The second option, the 'Expert Search', provides more fields than the 'Guided Search' within which to search: Anywhere; Abstract; Authors (All); Authors (Corporate); Authors (Personal); Conference; Full text; Geographic subject; Journal title; Keywords; Publisher; Resource type; Series; Subjects; Subject + Keyword; Title (All); Title (Main); Year published.
From the drop-down list click on the field you want to use and click on the plus button to add it into the search box. Enter the search term(s) for that field, using double quotation marks for phrases. If multiple terms are to be searched in a field, enclose the terms in rounded brackets and type BOOLEAN operators (AND, OR, NOT) in upper case between terms.
To add another field, type in the relevant BOOLEAN operator (AND, OR, NOT) then select and add the next field from the drop-down list. Enter the search terms for the second field. Continue like this to add additional fields. Click on the ‘Search’ button to run the search.
More information is available in the search tips box on the right of the screen and in the 'Searching VOCEDplus' user guide, which can be viewed on the 'Help' page.
Q: What is the difference between subjects and keywords?
Subjects are the 52 broad topics covered in VOCEDplus. Keywords are the over 600 narrower, more specific terms.
To search specifically in the 'VOCEDplus Subjects/Keywords' fields on the 'Guided Search' page, or in the 'Keyword', 'Subject' or 'Subject + Keyword' fields on the 'Expert Search' page, refer to the guide to 'VOCEDplus subjects and keywords' on the 'Help' page for the correct terms to use in these fields. If you enter terms that are not VOCEDPlus subjects and keywords, your search results will be incorrect. For example, if you enter the search term 'women' in the 'VOCEDplus Subjects/Keywords', 'Subject' or 'Subject + Keyword' fields, the search will not find any items because the preferred VOCEDplus subject term is gender.
You can also browse the full Keywords and Subjects lists separately under the 'Browse' menu.
Q: My search found too many items. How do I refine my search?
In VOCEDplus you can filter your search results and from there, further modify your original search.
There are seven options for filtering your search results: Authors; Subjects; Keywords; Geographic subjects; Resource type; Peer reviewed; Date. The filters appear on the left of the search results page. The number in brackets against each term in the filter boxes shows how many items will be retrieved if you apply that filter. Each filter type displays up to five terms (the top five terms within the search results) and a maximum of 20 terms can be viewed by clicking the 'Show more' link in each filter box.
To apply a filter, tick the checkbox in front of your chosen filter term. You can apply one or more filters to refine/narrow your search.
Any filters you apply will appear below your original search terms in the current search box at the top of the search results page. To remove a filter, click on either the 'x' at the end of the filter term, or click on 'Clear all filters', or untick the term in the 'Filter by...' list on the left of the screen.
You can also restart a search and use either the 'Guided Search' or 'Expert Search' to search in specific fields for a more specific search.
Q: My search found too few items. How do I broaden my search?
You can broaden your search in a range of ways. For example, if your search for "accreditation of prior learning" did not find many items, you can broaden this search by:
- adding alternative search terms to the original query using the BOOLEAN operator OR. For example, try searching for "accreditation of prior and experiential learning" OR APEL OR "accreditation of prior learning"
- consulting the guide to 'VOCEDplus subjects and keywords' on the 'Help' page to select the most relevant search terms, e.g. the keyword "Recognition of prior learning"
- using the basic search box on the home page to search across all fields, including the full text of documents.
Q: I only want scholarly items. How do I limit my search to peer reviewed items?
There are two ways to limit your search to peer reviewed items:
- run your search and then on the search results page select 'Filter by peer reviewed' (filters appear on the left of the search results page)
- in 'Guided Search', tick the 'Only Peer Reviewed' check box.
Q: I only want recently published items. How do I limit my search by date?
You can limit your search to items published within a specified period by searching in either the 'Guided Search' or 'Expert Search' and specifying date limits as part of your search.
As part of a 'Guided Search':
- to search for items published in a single, specific year, select the 'Year published' field from the drop-down list on the left of the screen and type the year into the adjacent search box
- to search for items published within a specific period, use the 'From Year' and 'To Year' option and enter the first and last years of the period in the two boxes
- to search for items published before a specific year, enter the year in the 'To Year' field and leave the 'From Year' field blank
- to search for items published after a specific year, enter the year in the 'From Year' field and leave the 'To Year' field blank.
As part of an 'Expert Search':
- to search for items published in a single, specific year, select and add the 'Year published' field from the drop-down list and after the colon, type the year
- to search for items published within a specific period, select and add the 'Year published' field from the drop-down list and after the colon, type the first and last years of the time period between square brackets with the word TO between the years, i.e. [2020 TO 2022].
Alternatively, you can limit your search by date after you have done your search by:
- using the 'Filter by date' option on the left of the search results page
- selecting the 'Sort by Publication Date' option on the left of the search results page to view the most recently published items first; clicking on this option again will reverse the sort to show oldest items first.
Q: How do I search for an item by its ISBN or ISSN?
Use the 'Guided Search' to search for an item by its ISBN or ISSN:
- Select ISBN from the drop-down list on the left of screen, and in the adjacent search box enter the number without any spaces or hyphens e.g. 9781922801210
- Select ISSN from the drop-down list on the left of screen, and in the adjacent search box enter the number, including the hyphen, within double quotation marks e.g. "0141-8211".
You can also search for ISBNs and ISSNs using the basic search box on the home page, entering the number using the same format as above.
Q: How do I search for items by specific authors?
There are four ways to search for authors:
- From the 'Browse' menu, select 'Authors', which includes all personal and corporate authors in VOCEDplus. Click on the letter of the name you are searching for and type the first few letters or words of the name then click on the 'Search' button. For example: for the personal author Phil Loveder, click on L, type loveder and click 'Search'; for the corporate author National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), click on N, type national centre and click 'Search'. Look through the list of results to find the best match. The number in brackets next to each name indicates the number of items in VOCEDplus by that author. Clicking on a name will run a search to find all items by that author.
- In the basic search box, type in the author's name within double quotation marks, surname followed by first name (capitalisation is not needed) e.g. "loveder phil".
- In the 'Guided Search', select 'Authors (All)' from the drop-down list and type in the author's name, either the surname only (e.g. loveder) or surname followed by first name within double quotation marks (e.g. "loveder phil") in the adjacent search box.
- In the 'Expert Search', select from 'Author (All)', 'Author (Corporate)' or 'Author (Personal)' from the drop-down list and click on the plus button to add it into the search box. Enter the search term(s) after the colon, using double quotation marks for phrases e.g. "loveder phil", "national centre for vocational education research".
Tip: Use the 'Browse Authors' option if you are uncertain about the exact form of an author's name.
Q: How do I perform a new search from the search results page?
To do a new search from the search results page, click on the VOCEDplus logo at the top left corner of the page to return to the home page to do a basic search or click on the 'Guided Search' or 'Expert Search' links below the basic search box to do a new Guided or Expert search.
Alternatively, simply delete the current search from the search box and enter new search terms. If you originally did a basic search, the current search box will allow you to do a new basic search. If you originally did a Guided Search, the current search box will allow you to do a new Guided Search. If you originally did an Expert Search, the current search box will allow you to do a new Expert Search.
Q: How do I perform a new search from a 'Full Item Display' page?
To do a new search from the 'Full Item Display' page, click on the VOCEDplus logo at the top left corner of the page. This will take you to the home page from where you can either do a basic search or click on the 'Guided Search' or 'Expert Search' links.
Q: How do I see my search history?
Click on the 'Search history' icon at the top right corner of the page to see your search history for your current session.
If you would like a record kept of your search history, create a 'My profile' login and make sure you are logged in to 'My profile' before doing any searches. This will ensure your search history is recorded to your profile.
When you are logged in, you will be able to see the list of all your searches by clicking on the 'Search history' icon in the top right corner of the page.
For further information on the 'My profile' tool, view the 'VOCEDplus search results' user guide on the 'Help' page.
Q: How do I save a search?
Create a 'My profile' login and make sure you are logged in to 'My profile' before doing any searches. This will ensure your search history is recorded to your profile. From your search history you can save a search by clicking on the bookmark tool to the right of the search details. You will see a banner notification 'Item added to your saved searches'.
When you are logged in, you will be able to see the list of all your saved searches by clicking on the 'Search history' icon in the top right corner of the page and then clicking on 'Saved searches'.
For further information on the 'My profile' tool and saving your searches, view the 'VOCEDplus search results' user guide on the 'Help' page.
