Embase at UAB Libraries: Advanced Search Tips

Embase has two truncation characters: * and ?

Use the asterisk to replace one or more letters:
         sul*ur retrieves sulfur, sulphur

Use the question mark for single-letter truncation:
        catheter? retrieves catheters, but not catheterization.

You can use truncation characters within phrases:
        "heart infarct*" 
        "physic* fit*"

And you can use the asterisk to truncate a phrase in combination with field limits:
         "physic* fit*":ab,ti     

However, the use of ? is not supported with field limits: 
         sul?ur:ab,ti​ retrieves an error message.

The asterisk cannot be used with fewer than two characters; for best relevance, type at least three characters before truncating with *.     

Add /syn (for synonyms) to an Emtree term to search the exploded term as well as all the synonyms listed. This retrieves even more results than ticking the 'search as broadly as possible' box (available on the Quick, Advanced, Drug, Disease, Device search forms):

From the Results page you can combine search sets using the set numbers with a hash mark (#). Search sets can also be nested with parentheses:

#3 OR #5

#1 AND (#3 OR #5)

You can use the field code :cn to search by clinical trial number, or just use the number. All these formats should work:

​

Clinical trial numbers have been indexed for Embase since 2007.

Embase supports the Boolean and proximity operators AND, OR, NOT, NEAR and NEXT. You can use them in any search form, including Quick Search.

AND – Both words or phrases must be present in the record; they do not have to be adjacent:
            depression AND tricyclic

OR – At least one word or phrase must be present; this example searches for records containing any one of these three words:
           elderly OR geriatric OR aged

NOT – The word or phrase before the 'NOT' must be present in the record; the word or phrase after the 'NOT' must be excluded:
           depression NOT tricyclic

If no other operator is specified, AND is the default operator;  heart failure is searched as heart AND failure if not enclosed in quotation marks. ​To search for a phrase, be sure to use single or double quotes around the phrase, or hyphens: "heart failure" or 'heart failure' or heart-failure.

NEAR/n – Must be within n words of each other. This example retrieves records with at most 4 words between terms, in either order:
           symptom NEAR/5 headache 

NEXT/n – Must be within n words of each other. This example retrieves records with no more than 4 words between terms, in order specified:
           symptom NEXT/5 headache

The proximity operators NEAR and NEXT can be used with parentheses, truncation and field limits:                     (symptom* NEAR/5 (headache* OR 'head ache')):ti,ab

Do not use quotation marks unless one of the concepts is a multi-word phrase:                                                     'hip NEAR/3 prosthesis' yields 0 hits, but                                                                                                  'acetylsalicylic acid' NEAR/6 ischemia is a valid search

You can combine Boolean operators and use parentheses to create complex single search statements:

         (aged OR elderly OR geriatric) AND (depression OR insomnia)

         (symptom* NEAR/5 (headache* OR ‘head ache’)):ti,ab

Limit by date by using the field label py (publication year) or sd (since date).

For a range:                #8 AND [1990-2016]/py

For a single year:        #8 AND 2016:py

Since specific date:     #8 AND [03/01/2015]/sd

Subheadings can be searched alone, unattached to a specific term (free-floating), using lnk:

'graves disease'/exp AND 'drug therapy':lnk