Boolean Searching

Let's do a another new search. Remember to click on Search at the top of the Scopus page. This time we're interested in 3D printing using soil from Mars. This search will be very specific and use boolean operators and truncation.

First, type in mar* regolith in the search box. 

This asterisk at the end of mar* is called a wildcard. It will search for any letter, meaning it will return results for mars and martian. Capitalization doesn't matter in Scopus, so it will return results for Mars and Martian as well. We use wildcards while searching to open up our search and get more results.

Now click the + icon on the right hand side of the search 

to add additional search terms. We can click on the + multiple times to easily build complex searches connected by boolean operators (AND OR NOT). Leave the first boolean operator at the default AND.

Type in print* 

This way results will include print, printer, printing, and printers. A boolean operator is when AND, OR and NOT are used to construct a complex search in a database. 

Your search should look like this:

Use the + to add another search term and this time change AND to OR and type in 3D.

The search will now look for martian regolith articles that also either have a variation on the word print or contain 3D. It is the type of complex search Scopus handles easily.

Run the search using the Search button...

...and you'll see that very few articles are returned, likely less than 50. 

Click NEXT to explore these results.