Overview of Advanced Searches

You can use the Verity Query Language to search for terms that contain punctuation marks. You can also use parantheses with query terms to build precise queries.

Examples of Advanced Search Techniques

Click on a search term to find a more detailed explanation.

Search Term
Finds Documents That Contain…
mg/litre
The string mg/litre.
doctor\’s advice
The phrase doctor's advice.
"vitamin E/kg
The string vitamin E/kg.
vomit OR diarrhoea AND blood
Stemmed variations of blood and diarrhoea in the same document or any documents with stemmed variations of vomit. (Verity reads queries from right to left.)
(vomit OR diarrhoea) AND blood
First finds stemmed variations of either vomit or diarrhoea, and then that also contain stemmed variations of blood, all in the same document. (Use parentheses to make the search precise.)
((vomit OR diarrhoea) AND blood) AND phenol
First finds stemmed variations of either vomit or diarrhoea, and then that also contain stemmed variations of blood, and then that contain stemmed variations of phenol, all in the same document. (Use parentheses to make the search precise.)

For information on using multiple search operators in your searches, see Rules for Operator Precedence.

Search Term	Finds Documents That Contain…
mg/litre	The string mg/litre.
doctor\’s advice	The phrase doctor's advice.
"vitamin E/kg	The string vitamin E/kg.
vomit OR diarrhoea AND blood	Stemmed variations of blood and diarrhoea in the same document or any documents with stemmed variations of vomit. (Verity reads queries from right to left.)
(vomit OR diarrhoea) AND blood	First finds stemmed variations of either vomit or diarrhoea, and then that also contain stemmed variations of blood, all in the same document. (Use parentheses to make the search precise.)
((vomit OR diarrhoea) AND blood) AND phenol	First finds stemmed variations of either vomit or diarrhoea, and then that also contain stemmed variations of blood, and then that contain stemmed variations of phenol, all in the same document. (Use parentheses to make the search precise.)