How to Use Query Builder

A search block is a single search criterion that specifies where to search, what to search for, and how precise the match should be.

Each block contains:

• Search In: Where to search (Title, Author, Source, etc.)
• Search Term: Your keywords
• Is Exact: Toggle exact phrase matching
• Operator: Relationship to other blocks

Meaning: Papers must contain BOTH search terms

Use AND to narrow your results by adding more requirements. This is useful when you want to find papers that match multiple criteria simultaneously.

For example, if you search for an author in one block and a topic in another block with AND, the results will only show papers where that specific author wrote about that specific topic. This helps narrow down broad searches to find exactly what you need.

Behavior: Finds papers where the text contains your search term

Example: "machine" finds "machine learning", "state machine", "learning machines"

Use for: General concepts, exploring a field, maximizing results

Limit results to papers published within a specific time period.

• From: Earliest year to include
• To: Latest year to include
• Leave blank: No date restrictions

Examples: Recent (From 2020), Classic (To 1990), Specific decade (2010-2015)

Goal:

Find papers on deep learning by Yann LeCun published in top journals after 2020

What This Search Does:

You would create one search block looking for "deep learning" in article titles, then add a second block connected with AND that searches for the author "Yann LeCun". The AND operator ensures only papers that mention deep learning in the title AND were written by Yann LeCun are included.

Then you would enable the "Is Exact" toggle for the author name to ensure you get the exact spelling. Finally, you'd set the journal filter to show only A* (top-tier) journals, and set the year range to start from 2020 to get only recent publications. This combination gives you recent, high-quality papers on deep learning written by this specific researcher.

• Set journal filters first - narrows results before searching
• Use specific fields - faster than "All Fields"
• Apply year constraints - older papers often less relevant
• Copy successful queries - save for future searches

Cause: Invalid operator combination (e.g., AND after Does Not Include)

Solution: Read the error message and follow suggestions. System only allows valid combinations.

Keep "Does Not Include" blocks at the end, use AND/OR in the middle.