| AND |
Combines terms where both terms must be present. The search fields are combined with an "AND" operator. If one enters "headache" in the search field followed by "AND manipulation, orthopedic", the search results will contain only articles indexed with both of those headings.
-----Back to Top----- |
|
Author search |
An author can be selected using the author's last name along with the initial(s) of the author's first name. You can search for an author's name and it's proper format using the search button located by the author field (It is a gray box with a question mark in it. Click this box to go to the Author Search Screen). In the MANTIS database, use only the author's first initial.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Author search screen |
You may search for an author that has written research material that has been indexed and included in the MANTISTM Database by clicking on the search button (the blue "?" icon) located by the author field. You will have the option of typing in a full or partial name in the field provided at the Author Name Search Screen. Our search engine will try to locate an author that matches the specifications that you enter and allow you the option to include this author in your search strategy. The name will be inserted back into query in the proper format so that you may continue with your MANTISTM search.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Beginning a search |
Choose either a headings/subheadings search, a title word search, a title/abstract word search or a search for "all" of the above from the radio buttons directly above the Search Field. If you are not sure about the appropriate heading(s) to use, you can click on the Find button for help in selecting headings (This is the blue "?" icon located to the left of the field). Choose from the available limiters to narrow down your search results (Year Restriction, etc.), select a display format, and then click on the Submit button.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Boolean operators |
Boolean operators include AND, OR, and NOT. Using these allows a search to be broadened or narrowed as desired.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Discipline |
These are used to find articles published by a profession, rather than information about a profession. If, for example, one wants to find articles published only in osteopathic journals, one would select the discipline "Osteopathic Medicine."
-----Back to Top----- |
| Display formats |
Using the "Display Articles" option at the bottom of the search screen, select the display format in which you would like the results displayed. If you do not specify a format, the search results will be displayed in title only format. Select the display format before submitting your query to the system. After displaying your results in any of the formats, you have the option of displaying the entire record for any article simply by clicking on the appropriate article number. If you are paying "by the hit", you will be charged only for "Citation", "Citation & Abstract", or "Citation & Full Detail" formats, or when viewing the full record of any article from any of the display format options. You will not be billed for viewing in "Title Only" format. The same is true for accounts with a limited number of displays per year. Once you have viewed a record in one of the longer formats, you will not be charged for displaying the same record in another longer format during the current session. For example, if you view a record in "Citation" format and then during the same session view the same record in "Citation & Abstract" format, you will only be billed or charged against your limit for a single charge.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Enter Article Number |
If one knows the database accession number of a particular record, one can retrieve that record by entering the number here.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Evidence-Based Practice |
This option will limit the search results to a particular clinical aspect of a subject. For example, if one were looking for articles with high clinical relevance about the diagnosis of headaches, one could enter the heading "headache" in the search field and select the limiter, "diagnosis".
-----Back to Top----- |
| Find Button (blue "?" icon) |
Use this button to help you select an appropriate heading, journal (publication), or author name to use in a search.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Heading search |
You can search for an appropriate heading/descriptor/keyword by clicking on the search button (It is a blue icon with a "?" in it). Click this icon to go to the Heading Search Screen located to the left of the search field.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Heading search screen |
You may search for a heading/descriptor/keyword that has been used to index the material (literature) included in the MANTISTM Database by clicking on the search button (It is a blue icon with a "?" in it) located to the left of the Search Field. Enter any word or part of a word and the system will display a list of all possible headings that use that word. You can select from the list the heading(s) you would like to use by clicking on the box next to the desired heading and then clicking on the "Select" button. The selected heading(s) will be automatically inserted in the search screen, joined by "OR" operators. After the word is inserted you may continue with your MANTISTM search.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Headings |
These are the subject terms assigned by the indexers to describe the content of the journal article. Headings are known also as "descriptors" or "keywords". They are either Medical Subject Headings or are taken from our list of supplemental headings that are discipline specific.
-----Back to Top----- |
| High Clinical Relevancy |
This limiter will restrict the search results to articles that relate the findings of the different types of clinical trials or case reports with humans as subjects.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Medical Subject Heading |
MeSH is an abbreviation for Medical Subject Headings. It is a controlled vocabulary of medical and scientific terms assigned to documents when they are indexed and included in databases. These terms can be used in many cases to search more efficiently than simple text words or text "strings". For more information on MeSH, please click here
-----Back to Top----- |
| NOT |
Excludes articles indexed with that heading. For example, if one want to find articles that deal with treatment of low back pain, but not articles that are about surgical methods, one could enter the heading "low back pain-th NOT surgery" OR "low back pain AND therapy NOT surgery" in the search field.
-----Back to Top----- |
| OR |
Combines terms where any of the selected terms may be present. One can join words or phrases using the operator "OR" between words or phrases. For example, if one wants to find articles that are indexed using either low back pain or sciatica, one could type "low back pain OR sciatica".
-----Back to Top----- |
| Printing search results |
Use the print feature of your browser, or save the results for printing later on.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Publication Search |
Choose this option to limit the search results to articles from a particular journal. Click on the find button to the right of the field (It is a blue icon with a "?" in it). Use the search feature to find the desired journal name. Click on the appropriate journal title and then on the button at the bottom of the journal find screen. This will automatically insert the journal title in the field.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Publication search screen |
You may search for information from a specific publication or journal that has material that has been indexed and included in the MANTISTM Database by clicking on the search button (It is a blue icon with a "?" in it) located by the publication field. You will have the option of typing in a full or partial name in the field provided at the Journal Title Search Screen. Our search engine will try to locate a journal that matches the specifications that you enter and allow you the option to include this journal in your search strategy. The name will be inserted back into query in the proper format so that you may continue with your MANTISTM search.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Refereed Journals Only |
When this option is selected, only articles found in peer reviewed journals will be retrieved. Peer reviewed (refereed) journals are those in which all articles published must be evaluated by experts in the field before being accepted for publication.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Results List Format |
Select from the following options before submitting your search query:
Titles Only
Citation
Citation & Abstract
Citation & Full Detail
-----Back to Top----- |
| Saving search results |
Use the save feature of your browser. If you want to use the search results with your word processor, you should save the results in plain text (txt) form.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Search Field |
This field is also known as the "Keyword Field" or the "Search Term Field" and is the location of where you will type in Medical Subject Headings or strings of text to search the literature contained within the database. You may use Boolean operators to link strings of words together to perform specific searches of the database.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Selecting specific records to view |
Selecting specific records to view
After displaying in any format, you will have the option to select specific records to view in more detail. Click on the box(es) to the right of the record(s) you wish to view and then click on the "View Selected Articles" button at the bottom of the screen. You may also just click on the individual article number to view that article's full detail.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Subheadings |
These are terms used to clarify the specific aspect of the heading discussed in the article, for example, the subheading "therapy" would be used with the heading "low back pain" to describe articles that deal with treating low back pain. Subheadings can be bound to headings with a hyphen to increase search accuracy. For example, "low back pain-th" would generally be more accurate than using the separate terms, "low back pain" and "therapy."
-----Back to Top----- |
| Submit |
Click on this button to send your request after selecting all the desired options.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Title word searches |
Clicking on the "Title Contains" option from the radio buttons located above the Search Field allows the searcher to find articles that contain specific word(s) in the title. This option is particularly helpful when looking for significant words that are not subject headings. If the searcher is looking for a phrase, like "turf toe", the words would have to be joined by an "AND" operator. You would select the "Title Contains" option and type in "turf AND toe" or "turf toe". The first search would find any article with the word "turf" and "toe" in the title and the second would find any article with the word "turf toe" in the title.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Title/Abstract word searches |
Clicking on the "Abst./Title Contains" option from the radio buttons located above the Search Field allows the searcher to find articles that contain specific word(s) in the title and/or abstract. This option is particularly helpful when looking for significant words that are not subject headings. If the searcher is looking for a phrase, like "turf toe", the words would have to be joined by an "AND" operator. You would select the "Abst./Title Contains" option and type in "turf AND toe" or "turf toe". The first search would find any article with the word "turf" and "toe" in the title or abstract and the second would find any article with the word "turf toe" in the title or abstract.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Year Restriction |
A literature search may be limited to a specific number of years. To limit the search, select a beginning and ending year from the pull-down menus located under the search term fields. The search will then include articles published during the beginning and end date and any articles published during the span of the two dates.
-----Back to Top----- |
| Refereed Journals Only |
When this option is selected, only articles found in peer reviewed journals will be retrieved. Peer reviewed (refereed) journals are those in which all articles published must be evaluated by experts in the field before being accepted for publication.
-----Back to Top----- |
