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Search Tips

There are a number of routes to finding information on the HPS website:

Sitewide Search
HPS Publications Search
HPS Weekly Report Search
HPS Library Catalogue Search
Research Projects
Research Publications

Sitewide Search

Basic
Advanced
A-Z Subject List

Basic

This can be accessed from either the top right search box which appears throughout the entire website, or if you choose "Advanced Search" from the same box, it will take you to a page where you can also choose the basic search option.

To conduct a search:

Simply type one or more search terms into the box;
Choose how many results you wish displayed per page;
Press Enter or hit the search button;
This searches the title and abstract for the term(s) you have used.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3);
Will state the title, source and date of publication;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent publication date;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20, 30 or 50.

Helpful hints:

Results can be filtered using the options to the right of the search box;
No punctuation is needed;
There is an automatic AND default; this means that the search results will only show those documents containing all the terms;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results;
If you wish to clear your search and start again, click on the reset button.

Please note that for the moment, the basic search function does not support:

Truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
Phrase searching - putting quotation marks around a phrase;
Boolean searching - with AND, OR and NOT operators;
Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

Advanced

The advanced search gives you options for searching that are not available in the Basic Search. It can be accessed via the link at the top right of every page, beneath the search box.

To conduct a search:

Simply type one or more search terms into one of the boxes. The options represent a Boolean search - AND, OR and NOT - and allow for phrase searching;
Choose how many results you wish displayed per page;
Press Enter or hit the search button;
This searches the title and abstract for the term(s) you have used.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3);
Will list the title, source and date of publication;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent publication date;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20, 30 or 50.

Helpful hints:

Results can be filtered by type of publication using the options to the right of the search box;
No punctuation is needed;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results;
If you wish to clear your search and start again, click on the reset button.

Please note that for the moment, the advanced search function does not support:

Truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric;
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

A-Z Subject list

This option is accessible from every page on the website via the link in the top navigation panel. This option allows you to brows though the subjects that have been used to classify all the documents on our website, which are listed alphabetically.

The A-Z Subject Index provided here is not exhaustive in its coverage of (for instance) all potential infectious disease or environmental pathogens but is intended to reflect those areas which have generated most of the organisation's work over recent years.

Subject list results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3);
Will list the title, source and date of publication;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent publication date;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page.

Helpful hints:

Results can be filtered by type of publication using the options to the right of the search box;
If you do not find the term you're looking here, try using the Site Wide Search which will trawl the text of all site contents.

HPS Publications Search

The publications search searches all Health Protection Scotland and Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) publications, EXCEPT those from the SCIEH/HPS Weekly Report. These can be searched via the eWR pages of the website.

To conduct a search:

Simply type one or more search terms into the box;

Choose a subject area to search from the drop down box;

Both of these options;
Choose how many results you wish displayed per page;
Press Enter or hit the search button;
This searches the title and abstract for the term(s) you have used.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3)
Will list the title, source and date of publication;
Will automatically default to being ordered by title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20 or 30.

Helpful hints:

Results can be filtered by publication type by selecting the "Individual HPS Publication Types" button, then by selecting the types you wish to search from the selection below;
No punctuation is needed;
There is an automatic AND default; this means that the search results will only show those documents containing all your terms;
You can use truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results;
If you wish to clear your search and start again, click on the reset button.

Please note that for the moment, the advanced search function does not support:

Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric;
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

HPS Weekly Report Search

A-Z Subject List
Basic
Advanced
Issue
Subject

A-Z Subject List

Access to the A - Z subject list is via the A - Z Subject Index link in the left-hand menu.

All the documents in the HPS eWeekly Report database are indexed using a controlled list of subjects. This is a browsable list of all these subjects.

As the documents are indexed using more than one subject, the same document will appear in multiple locations, depending upon the number of subjects that have been used.

Search results:

Will be divided by contents type (i.e. Current Note, Surveillance Report etc)
Will be sorted into most recent first.

Basic

Access to the basic search is via Search in the left hand menu.

To conduct a search:

Simply type one or more search terms into the box;
Press Enter or hit the search button;
This searches the title and text for the term(s) you have used.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3 - 27 records returned);
Will list the title, volume, number and year;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent publication date;
Can be sorted by publication date or title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20, 30 or 50.

Helpful hints:

No punctuation is needed;
There is an automatic AND default; this means that the search results will only show those documents containing all your terms;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results;
If you wish to clear your search and start again, click on the reset button.

Please note that for the moment, the basic search function does not support:

Phrase searching - putting quotation marks around a phrase;
Boolean searching - with AND, OR and NOT operators;
Truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric;
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

Advanced

Access to the advanced search is via Search in the left hand menu. Click on the Advanced tab.

This can be used to refine your search, particularly if a basic search returns too many results.

To conduct a search:

You can choose which fields you wish to search. The default is "all fields" but this can be narrowed to title, full text and author;
Enter your search terms in the box and choose how you wish to combine them (options are AND, OR and NOT);
If you enter more than one word into the search box, they will automatically be combined with AND;
You can choose how you wish them to be sorted (default is by most recent publication date);
You can also limit the search to the type of content (e.g. to Surveillance Reports only) by ticking the boxes below the search fields;
If you wish to display all items of a particular type (e.g. current news item, or current news item and surveillance reports), tick the relevant box, and leave the search field blank;
Press Enter or hit the search button.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3 - 27 records returned);
Will list the title, volume, number and year;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent publication date;
Can be sorted by publication date or title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20, 30 or 50.

Helpful hints:

If you enter more than one word into the search box, they will automatically be combined with AND;
No punctuation is needed;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results.

Please note that for the moment, the advanced search function does not support:

Phrase searching - putting quotation marks around a phrase;
Truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric;
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

Issue

Access to the issue search is via Search in the left hand menu. Click on the Issue tab.

This allow you to look for a specific issue.

To conduct a search:

Pick your dates from the drop down lists;
You must choose a year and an issue;
Press Enter or hit the search button. This brings back all the content from the particular issue.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will be organised by their article type;
Will display the title.

Subject

All the documents in the HPS eWeekly Report database are indexed using a controlled list of subjects. These can be used as another method of searching the documents.

This search tool allows you to combine up to three subjects into a search. Results will be returned that have all the subjects used as indexing terms.

Access to the subject search is via Search in the left hand menu. Click on the Subject tab

To conduct a search:

Pick your search terms from the drop down lists;
These are listed in alphabetical order;
Choose either AND, OR or NOT to combine terms;
You can also limit the search to the type of article (e.g. limit to Surveillance Reports only) by ticking the boxes below the search fields;
Press Enter or hit the search button.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3 - 27 records returned);
Will list the title, volume, number and year;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent publication date;
Can be sorted by publication date or title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20, 30 or 50.

HPS Library Catalogue Search

To conduct a search:

Simply type one or more search terms into one of the boxes. The options represent a Boolean search - AND, OR and NOT - and allow for phrase searching;
Choose how many results you wish displayed per page;
Press Enter or hit the search button;
This searches the title and abstract for the term(s) you have used.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
The search term(s) will be highlighted in the text;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3 - 27 records returned);
Will list the title, year and volume (if applicable);
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent publication date;
Can be sorted by publication date or title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20 or 30.

Helpful hints:

Can be filtered by selecting the publication types below the search box. The default is to search everything in the library;
You can use truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
No punctuation is needed;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results.

Please note that for the moment, the library search function does not support:

Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric;
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

Research Projects Search

This allows you to search ongoing and completed HPS research activities, either core- or grant-funded, contained within the HPS Research Register.

Basic
Advanced
Subject

Basic

To conduct a search:

Simply type one or more search terms into the box;
Press Enter or hit the search button;
This searches the research question and description for the term(s) you have used.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 5, 44 records returned);
Will state the research question and the date approved;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent date, but this can be changed to sort by title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page.

Helpful hints:

The results can be filtered by completed research or ongoing research;
No punctuation is needed;
There is an automatic AND default; this means that the search results will only show those documents containing all the terms;
You can use truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results;
If you wish to clear your search and start again, click on the reset button.

Please note that for the moment, the basic search function does not support:

Phrase searching - putting quotation marks around a phrase;
Boolean searching - with AND, OR and NOT operators;
Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric;
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

Advanced

The advanced search gives you options for searching that are not available in the Basic Search.

To conduct a search:

Simply type one or more search terms into one of the boxes. The options represent a Boolean search - AND, OR and NOT - and allow for phrase searching;
Choose how many results you wish displayed per page;
Press Enter or hit the search button;
This searches the research question and description for the term(s) you have used.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 5, 44 records returned);
Will state the research question and the date approved;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent date, but this can be changed to sort by title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20 or 30.

Helpful hints:

No punctuation is needed;
You can use truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results;
If you wish to clear your search and start again, click on the reset button.

Please note that for the moment, the basic search function does not support:

Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric;
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

Subject

All the research in the HPS Research Database is indexed using a controlled list of subjects. These can be used as another method of searching.

This search tool allows you to combine up to three subjects into a search. Results will be returned that have all the subjects used as indexing terms.

Access to the subject search is via Search in the left hand menu. Click on the Subject tab

To conduct a search:

Pick your search terms from the drop down lists;
These are listed in alphabetical order;
Choose either AND, OR or NOT to combine terms;
Press Enter or hit the search button.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3 - 27 records returned);
Will state the research question and the date approved;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent date, but this can be changed to sort by title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20,30 or 50.

Research Publications

Advanced
Journal
Subject

Advanced

To conduct a search:

Simply type one or more search terms into one of the boxes. The options represent a Boolean search - AND, OR and NOT - and allow for phrase searching;
Choose how many results you wish displayed per page;
Press Enter or hit the search button;
This searches the publication title for the term(s) you have used.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 5, 44 records returned);
Will state the publication title and the date of publication;
Will automatically default to being ordered by most recent date, but this can be changed to sort by title;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20 or 30.

Helpful hints:

No punctuation is needed;
You can use truncation/stemming to find variations and plurals - e.g. genetic* = genetic, genetically, genetics;
The search is not case sensitive - using capitals will not affect the search results;
If you wish to clear your search and start again, click on the reset button.

Please note that for the moment, the basic search function does not support:

Wildcards - the substitution of part of a word with a character to retrieve variations on a word e.g. p*diatric to retrieve both paediatric and pediatric;
Stop terms - filtering out commonly used words such as "the".

Journal

To conduct a search:

Select a journal from the dropdown list;
Select a year of publication if required (only those years represented in the database will be shown);
Press Enter or hit the search button.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 5, 44 records returned);
Will state the publication year and the title of publication;
Will automatically default to being ordered alphabetically, but this can be changed to sort by year;
Will be displayed as 10 results per page, but this can be changed to 20 or 30.

Subject

All the research publications in the HPS Research Database are indexed using a controlled list of subjects. These can be used as another method of searching.

This search tool allows you to combine up to three subjects into a search. Results will be returned that have all the subjects used as indexing terms.

Access to the subject search is via Search in the left hand menu. Click on the Subject tab

To conduct a search:

Pick your search terms from the drop down lists;
These are listed in alphabetical order;
Choose either AND, OR or NOT to combine terms;
Press Enter or hit the search button.

Search results:

Will be displayed as a list beneath the search box;
Will state the number of results returned (i.e. Page 1 of 3 - 27 records returned);
Will state the publication year and the title of publication;
Will automatically default to being ordered by date of publication, but this can be changed to sort by title.