Command Search

The Advanced Search Options page enables you to enter a free-form search query. In command search, you can specify and perform more complex searches than you can using structured advanced search. You can join up to 15 search terms, use proximity operators, and exert more control over the order in which expressions are evaluated.

To access the Command Search page, click on under the Global Search box and select the tab.

In the Command Search area, click in the text box. If desired, limit your search by using the Data Fields drop-down menu to select a field or by entering the field name in quotation marks followed by a colon (for example, "Authors":).

IEEE Xplore looks for a keyword in all fields (metadata) unless you limit the search to specific fields or select the Full Text & Metadata radio button.

If you specified a field name, enter a value for the field (for example, "Authors":jones). Otherwise, enter a keyword. The keyword can be a subject term, name, or phrase. If you are unsure of the spelling, you can use the * wildcard. If you want to search specifically for a phrase, enclose the phrase in quotation marks (for example, "Document Title":"web services" finds documents with the exact phrase web services in the title). If you enter a phrase but do not enclose it in quotation marks, IEEE Xplore uses the AND operator to search for the keywords (for example, "Document Title":web services finds documents with the word web and the word services in the title either singularly or as a phrase).

IEEE Xplore searches for items regardless of capitalization. See Entering Search Keywords for additional rules governing entry of search keywords.

Combine multiple search expressions as needed. Use the Operators drop-down menu to define the relationship between search expressions, using the following syntax:

search_expression <operator> search_expression

where search_expression is "field name":value or keyword (including keyword 1 keyword2 ... keywordn or "keyword phrase") and <operator> is an operator listed in the Operators drop-down menu. If you choose to type the operator, use all capital letters (AND, OR, NOT, NEAR, ONEAR).

For example, the following search expressions look for either the phrase broadband wireless access or the abbreviation bwa in document titles:

Note: You can not use parentheses to nest search terms when using the OR operator within a data field. Thus, "Document Title":("broadband wireless access" OR bwa) is not a valid search; the valid search is "Document Title":"broadband wireless access" OR "Document Title":bwa. You can then use parentheses to nest this search string. For example, ("Document Title":"broadband wireless access" OR "Document Title":bwa) AND scheduling.

Click . IEEE Xplore looks through the database records and presents a list of results matching your query. The subscription identifier icon indicates articles where you have access to full text.
If more titles containing the keyword exist than appear on the first page, click the First and Last links at the top and bottom of the list, to view more pages of titles.

For more information:

Tutorial: Command Search

User Guide: Advanced Search Frequently Asked Questions