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National Research Register |
NIHR NRR Archive Database Search |
To search
Enter a term in the Search Phrase box near the top of the left pane, then click on
Go. All sections in the Register are searched, and the results are shown under
each section name in the left pane.
Sections which contain "hits" matching the chosen search term are shown in blue
whilst the titles of those sections which contain no "hits" are shown in grey.
The number of "hits" is shown in brackets after each section title. The second
figure in the brackets is the total number of documents in that section.
Click on a section name to open a drop-down list showing the titles of the documents
located by the search.
You can search for single words and also phrases. |
Enter a term in the Search term box near the top left of the main display area,
then press Search. You can also select which record status you want to search
in, by ticking the appropriate tick boxes. |
To browse the titles of all documents
Click on a section name without entering a search term in the Search Phrase window.
A drop down list showing the titles of the first 20 documents within that section
will be displayed. To navigate through the document titles use the arrows
at the top and bottom of the document list: titles are displayed in blocks of 20. |
This feature is not available in the archive at present |
To view a document
Click on a document title in the left pane: the text of that document is displayed
in the right pane. |
Click on the document title from the list of returned search results. A new
window will open containing the detail of the study selected. |
Combining search terms
You can combine search terms using the following words: AND, OR, NOT, NEAR and NEXT.
OR - If you use OR between search terms, you will retrieve documents containing
at least one of those terms. For example, entering aspirin OR paracetamol OR codeine
will locate documents containing any of these terms.
AND - If you use AND between search terms, you will only retrieve documents that
contain each of the terms specified. For example, entering aspirin AND ulcer
AND stomach will only retrieve documents containing all three terms.
NOT- If you use NOT between search terms, you will retrieve documents containing
the first term but not the second term. For example, entering ulcer NOT stomach
will retrieve documents containing the word "ulcer" without the word "stomach".
The word NEXT will link the two words either side of it. For example, entering
breast NEXT cancer will retrieve documents containing the phrase "breast cancer".
The word NEXT can be omitted: entering breast NEXT cancer will give the same results
as entering breast cancer.
The operator NEAR searches on words that are within 6 words of each other.
For example, entering breast NEAR cancer will retrieve documents containing such
phrases as:
"Cancer was found in the breast following..."
"...that breast lumps indicate possible cancer..."
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The search filters AND and OR are available for use within the archive, however
NOT, NEAR, and NEXT are not.
OR - For example, entering aspirin OR paracetamol OR codeine will locate documents
containing any of these terms.
AND - If you use AND between search terms, you will only retrieve documents that
contain each of the terms specified. For example entering aspirin AND ulcer
AND stomach will only retrieve documents containing all three terms.
N.B. AND and OR function identically whether entered in upper or lowercase. |
Wildcards (truncation)
When searching for a word, the search system looks for an exact match unless the
word ends with an asterisk (*). The asterisk symbol acts as a "wildcard" and
matches all words that begin with the string of characters before the asterisk.
For example, entering arter* will retrieve documents containing words such as "artery",
"arteries", "arterial", etc. |
Wildcard searching functions in the same way as the NRR database, except that the
user must include speech marks around the search term(s) being entered.
For example, entering "arter*" will retieve documents containing words such as "artery",
"arteries", "arterial", etc.
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Refining searches
Searched can be refined in various ways by clicking on the Refine your search link
underneath the Search Phrase window. |
You can refine a search by checking Search within results box, entering an additional
search term and then pressing Search. The system will then combine the original
and additional terms to refine the results. |
Restrict by status
You can choose to include all documents in the Register, or just those newly-added
in the current issue. |
There is no status option to retrieve newly-added documents as it is an archive
search and changes to the data will be minor. However, you can restrict searches
dependent on the record status, by ticking the appropriate tick boxes on the search
screen. |
Restrict by search field
You can restrict your search term to any of 11 fields (sections) of a document.
Open the drop-down menu next to Search: and click on your preferred option.
Any restrictions you have applied are automatically cleared once that search has
run. These restrictions, among others:
Title: words in document titles.
Contact person: names listed as Contact person.
Methodology: terms in the Methodology section
Year ended: the year when the project finished
Note: some records do not include all 11 fields. For example, the Region
field is not used in the MRC Clinical Trials section. Searches including such a
restriction will not retrieve any documents in a section where that restriction
does not apply. |
This feature is identical in the archive. |
Clearing a search
To clear your search at any time, click on the Clear button in the menu bar. |
There is no feature to clear a search in the archive at present. |
Search history
Following each search, the search number and search term will be shown under History.
Your search history can be viewed by clicking on History button on the menu bar.
Click on Clear button on the right hand side of the History page to entirely clear
the present search history. |
There is no search history feature in the archive at present. |
Moving around the Register
You can move backwards and forwards through the documents selected during a session
by clicking on the Back and Forward buttons in the menu bar.
You can return to the results of your most recent search from the MeSH or History
options by clicking on the Records button in the menu bar. |
Use your browser forwards and backwards arrows to navigate between pages viewed |
Rules for Searches
When conducting a search using more than one word, several rules apply:
1. All text is searched unless restrictions are set (using the refine your search
link under the search phrase window).
2. Case is ignored
3. "Stop words" are ignored
4. You can search the Register for both words and numbers
5. Punctuation within words (e.g. hyphens and apostrophes) are treated as breaks
between two words. For example, if searching for the phrase "non-surgical",
your search phrase should be non NEXT surgical.
6. Asterisks (*) are wildcards.
7. The search is 'read' from left to right. However, terms within brackets
are searched for first. |
Exactly the same apart from punctuation within words are NOT treated as word breaks.
Also when using wild cards, the word needs to be enclosed in speech marks.
For example, "arter*". |
Closing the Register
Always click the Exit button on the right hand side of the menu bar to leave The
National Research Register |
To close the archive, close the session of your browser. |