Ovid databases

The Search History lists each of your searches with the number of results for each one.

You can use the Search History to:

• combine your search lines to build up a search strategy;
• edit your search strategy.

The Search History is located below the search options and above your search results, but you can reposition it to wherever you wish on the screen by clicking and dragging the 'move icon' (4-headed arrow) at the top right of the Search History.

Standard notation used in the Search History can help you determine the nature of each search line:

• Search lines ending with a forward slash are thesaurus searches.
• An exploded subject heading is indicated by exp in front of the heading.
• Thesaurus terms are indicated by an oblique stroke at the end.
• Subheadings are shown after the oblique stroke as abbreviations; the meanings are in square brackets.
• By default, textword searches end with .mp.
• Where you have combined searches, a new search line is created which shows the search line numbers of the combined searches..
• Where you have applied limits, an additional search line is created with limits displayed in parenthese.

• Truncation is indicated by an asterisk. The fields searched are shown by the code .mp. (multi-purpose) with more details in the square brackets.
• The adjacency operator used in this example is adj5.
• When you combine searches, only the line numbers are shown in the search history.
• Limits are shown in parentheses.

To combine searches, use the box(es) alongside each search line and click AND or OR. Your combined search forms a new line in the History. You can also remove searches by ticking the box(es) and clicking the Remove button at the bottom of the history panel.

You may find you wish to edit your search history, particularly where you are building up a complex search strategy. For example, you may need to edit a search term, such as by adding truncation (see textword searching), or to add or remove a search term.

The search operators AND and OR are used in searching to combine search terms together.

AND retrieves articles which contain all of your concepts. For example, if you are interested in the use of cognitive behaviour therapy for gambling disorders, you would search for cognitive behaviour therapy AND gambling.

OR retrieves records which contain any of your concepts. For example, you might search for cognitive behaviour therapy OR CBT to retrieve all articles on the topic.