Ultra-Fast Start (for all databases)

• Use character strings (words) separated by a space.

• Terms are automatically right truncated. The database searches for all words starting with the character strings entered (except for the date and number fields).

• Terms are automatically ANDed together.

• Use the Full Record field for full text searching. Use the more specific indexing fields for more precise searching.

• Example - entry of "retrovir vector" in the Full Record field will retrieve records including containing words starting with "retrovir" (e.g., "retroviruses" and "retroviral") AND words starting with "vector" (e.g., "vectors").

• Retrieved records are displayed most recent first.

More Useful Information

• Spaces and punctuation delimit searchable words.

• The hyphen (-) is not a delimitter. For example "interleukin-1" will retrieve records with "interleukin-1" or "interleukin-12".

• Abstracting and indexing follow rigorous conventions. See the Users Guide for information about each field.

• The Subject field includes controlled indexing terms. See the Microthesaurus.

• Use acronyms/codes in the Agency/Lab. field. See hierarchical and alphabetical listings.

• The Date field requires input of full eight digits (YYYYMMDD). For example, "19960000" is 1996 and "19950528" is May 28, 1995.

• The Database Status Page reports the database status (last update, number of records, etc.) and any problems.

For full details see:

Detailed Users Guide

Database Fields and Record Structure