Help for the Primo search portal

To specify your search query more precisely, you can use the following operators in the search lines of the simple or advanced search mask:
 

• Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT
  • AND/UND/[space]
    All search expressions linked with AND must occur in the data record. The two (equivalent) queries green AND IT or green it, for example, only find data records that contain the expressions "green" and "it".
  • OR/ODER
    At least one of the search expressions linked with OR must be in the data record. chess OR schach, for example, returns data records containing at least one of the two expressions "chess" and "Schach".
  • NOT/NICHT
    The search expression linked with NOT must not appear in the data record. webdesign NOT html results in data records that contain the expression "webdesign" but not "HTML".
  • Notes
    a) Operator characters must be capitalised.
    b) Complex queries can be formulated and round brackets can be used for structuring, e.g. (sustainability OR nachhaltigkeit) AND (college OR university OR hochschule).
     
• Phrasing: "..."
  • "..."
    The expressions enclosed in inverted commas must appear next to each other in the data set in the specified order. "pen and paper", for example, only finds data records in which these three words appear directly next to each other in this order.
  • Note
    "sustainable method" and "sustainable methods" are different searches with different results.
     
• Truncation: *
  • xyz*
    xyz must be contained in the data record as a word or as a word stem: All data records containing xyz or xyz followed by any character string are found. sustain*, for example, returns data records in which the expressions "sustain", "sustainable", or "sustainability" etc. occur.
  • Notes
    a) The word stem xyz must consist of at least three letters.
    b) It can also be truncated inside an expression, e.g. tran*tion finds "transplantation" or "transformation".
     
• Masking: ?
  • ?
    ? stands for any single character. wom?n finds e.g. "woman" or "women".

You can narrow down your search results using filters or field-specific selection options and tailor them more precisely to your search requirements. Options include, for example
 

• Simple search
  • "Library catalog"
    As soon as you have submitted a search in the simple search, you can use the pull-down menu to the left of the magnifying glass symbol in the search line to specify that only hits belonging to the printed or electronic stocks of the Trier UAS libraries are displayed.
  • Filters
    You can use the filters or facets on the left of the hit list to filter your search results under one or more aspects, e.g. under "Location" or "Publication Date". You can generally include or exclude an aspect. Example: If you open the "Location" facet and hits are displayed under "UCB: Library", among others, you can restrict your search to these hits by moving the mouse over the display and ticking the box on the left. Or you can exclude the hits from the results by clicking on the crossed-out red box on the right.
         
• Advanced search
  • Search filters (left)
    You can use the search filters on the left of the individual search lines to specify that the respective search terms must appear in the title or author field of a data record, for example.
  • Search filters (right)
    You can use the filters to the right of the search lines to specify that the hits belong to the resource type "Journals", for example.
  • Example 1
    Let's assume you are looking for literature on the subject of ‘woods’ and enter woods OR woodland in the simple search mask. In this case, the search will lead you to many unwanted hits, as there are authors with the surname Wood. One possible solution: Open the advanced search and carry out the following search: [TITLE contains woods OR woodland OR SUBJECT contains woods OR woodland]. Now the terms "woods" or "woodland" must appear in the title of a document or in its indexing.      
  • Example 2
    Suppose you want to read works by Albert Einstein as authors. In the simple search, the query albert einstein also leads to many documents that were not written by Albert Einstein himself, but were written about him and his work. The following search in the advanced search will help: [AUTHOR contains albert einstein].
  • Example 3
    Suppose you are looking for the journal Controlling and only have this term. To actually search for the journal - and not for all possible works that deal with controlling - you can search in the advanced search mask with: [TITLE begins with controlling MATERIAL TYPE Journals]. Alternatively, you can use the special journal search in the top menu bar.

If you are logged in to Primo, you can not only access and manage your personal library account. You can also save search hits as favourites or create search alerts.
 

• Favourites
  • To save a hit as a favourite, click on the pin symbol in the hit display.
  • You can display all hits saved in this way by going to "My favorites" in the pull-down menu at the top right and then looking in the "Saved records" tab.
  • Management: To assign a hit to a group, select the pencil symbol or "Add labels" in the favourites list. (This can also be used to remove assignments again).
     
• Search queries and alerts
  • Queries can be saved by clicking the "Save query" option above the first hit in the hit list. Then select "Turn on notification for this query" if you want to activate the search alert for your query directly. You will then always be informed when new data records have been entered for your search. Select "DISMISS" if you want to save the enquiry without an active search alert for the time being.   
  • You can display all saved search queries by going to "My favorites" in the pull-down menu at the top right and then opening the "Saved searches" tab. The search alerts can be activated or deactivated via the alarm bell symbol.