University Library > ABI/INFORM Search Tips

ABI/INFORM Global (ProQuest) Search Tips

Note: See the How to Use ProQuest guide for more details on using ProQuest's ABI/Inform.

Table of Contents:


Search Operators
Operator Sample Use Finds Articles With:
AND marketing AND internet both words in the same article
OR web OR internet either or both words anywhere in the same article (useful for synonyms)
AND NOT marketing AND NOT internet the first word or phrase, but not with the second word
PRE (preceding) world pre/3 web both words within n words of each other in the same field and in this order, where n specifies the number of words
WITHIN computer W/3 careers the words separated by n or fewer words in any order, where n specifies the number of separating words
NOT WITHIN computer NOT W/2 careers all the words except the latter one within a field, where n specifies the number of separating words
WITHIN DOC internet W/DOC education both words in either the indexing or the text
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Search Fields
Field Sample Use Finds Articles:
Article Title ti("peering into the future of careers") with a specific title. Forms: ti, title
Author au(Michael Kinsley) written by a particular author.
Forms: au, author
Class Codes cc(1120) with a specific Classification Code.
Forms: cc
Company Name co(Ford) about a company, division of a company, association, etc. Forms: co, company
Date (Numeric) pdn(12/12/1999) published on a specific date in numeric format.
Forms: pdn
DUNS duns(00 695 7856) with a specific Dunn & Bradstreet trading partner id. number. Forms: du, dun, duns
Geographical Name geo(Japan) about a specific place.
Forms: geo, gn
Personal Name name(gates, bill) about a person.
Forms: na, name, nm, pnm
Product Name prod(xbox) about a specific product.
Forms: pr, pro, prod, pn, tn
Publication Name so(Journal of Finance or Journal of International Money and Finance) in a specific publication or publications.
Forms: so, source, jr, jn, jo, sr, pti
Section sec(business models & technology) and so(Broadcast Engineering) that appear in a specific (known) section of a publication. Forms: se, sec, section
SIC/NAICS Codes sic(4911)
sic(514210)		 with a specific SIC/NAICS code.
Forms: sic
Subject Terms su(personal digital assistants) about a specific subject.
Forms: de, su, sub, terms
Ticker Symbol tk(INTC) with indexed ticker symbols.
Forms: ticker, tik, tk, ts
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Other Search Tips
Topic Guide To focus a search by using specific subjects, people, places or  companies use the Topic Guide feature (it's a tab on the menu bar). Type in a word that describes your concept to see if it is a subject, company, person, or location. View articles directly from the Topics page.
Phrase Searching 2 word queries (leveraged buyouts) are searched as an exact phrase by default. 
To search for 3 or more words as a phrase, use quotation marks: "limited liability companies" otherwise ProQuest will search for the words in proximity, but not necessarily as a phrase.
Dates ProQuest automatically searches all dates. To limit to specific dates, select from the date range menu. When choosing a date option that requires typing in a date, use the format 1/31/1999 (mm/dd/yyyy) or Jan 1999 (mon yyyy).
Plurals & Spelling Variants Use the truncation (*) or wildcard (?) symbols (see below) when entering a search word, to find spelling variations such as plurals, singulars, possessive forms of the word, or U.K. and U.S. English.
Truncation (*) To search for words with a common word root, use right-hand truncation.
For example: manag* finds manage, management, managing, manager, etc.
Wildcard(?) To search for single character spelling variations, either inside a word or at the end of the it. Note: Cannot be used to begin a word. Examples: wom?n finds woman, women and womyn; t?re finds tare, tire, tore, tyre, etc.
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Evaluating Search Results
If you have too many articles to look through:
 
  • Use the AND Operator to add more keywords to your search.
    Example: corporate image and su(case studies)
  • Use the NOT Operator to eliminate a subset of the results
    Example: sony not playstation
  • Look at the subject terms used by an article on your topic and either click on one of them or use them with the "su" search field.
    Example:  operations and su(strategic management)
  • Limit the date range by selecting dates from the Date range menu. When choosing a date option that requires typing in a date, use the format 1/31/1999 (mm/dd/yyyy) or Jan 1999 (mon yyyy).
  • Use Advanced Search and Limit the search terms to the citation and abstract fields.
If you have few or no articles:
 
  • Reduce the number of keywords used in the search.
  • Use the OR Operator to add synonyms or related terms for the keywords.
    Example: private equity or leveraged buyout or LBO
  • Check to see that an Operator, such as AND or OR is being used between different keywords. Otherwise, ProQuest treats the two words as a phrase.
  • Brainstorm to identify broader subjects or other ways to describe the topic.


ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest: 1971- ) Off-Campus access requires UW-W ID number. Covers a wide range of popular and scholarly publications in accounting, finance, marketing, management, international business, real estate, and taxation. It provides abstracting and indexing from 1971 forward for over 1,300 titles, including 200 English-language foreign publications. Also included is Partial/Full Text for over 600 journals from 1992 forward.

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