How can I limit searches by database?
Last updated on March 18, 2026
Use limits to further define your desired search results. After running a Quick search query, specific limits are available on the Document results list. Expert searches can be limited only by publication year range, database updates, and Browse indexes.
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. The following options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and on the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year drop-downs to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
Language
You can limit your search to any language listed on the ‘Language’ dropdown menu on the Document results list after running a Quick search query:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian - (not available for all databases)
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
Note: After running a Quick search query, you may search the LANGUAGE field for all databases via the Document results list. However, not all databases contain every language (e.g., Italian is unavailable for all databases). To search for more than one language, or to search for additional languages not listed in the ‘Language’ dropdown menu on the Document results list after running a Quick search query, use Expert search. The Language Browse index in Expert search contains a list of available languages within the various databases.
Document type
A Document type identifies an item type within a source, such as a journal article, conference proceeding, or a book.
- From the Document type dropdown menu on the Document results list after running a Quick search query, select the checkbox(es) of the Document type(s) you want to see in your search query
- From Expert search, select the document type from the Document type Browse index or search the field directly, as shown in the example below.
Example: cp wn DT
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query provide access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
Discipline
The Discipline tab on the Document results list after running a Quick search query is used to restrict the search to one of five main subject areas and is only applicable to Inspec:
- All Disciplines (default)
- Computers/Control engineering
- Electrical/electronic engineering
- Information technology
- Manufacturing and production engineering
- Physics
Treatment
The Treatment tab on the Document results list after running a Quick search query is used to specify the slant or approach taken in the document. The following five treatment types are applicable only to Compendex and Inspec:
- All treatments (default)
- Applications
- Economic
- Experimental
- General review
- Theoretical
Review the sections below to learn detailed information about the search limits for each Engineering Village database.
Note: Available Search limits are restricted to limits common to the combination of databases you select.
In the CBNB database you can limit searches by Document type, Language, Browse indexes, Date, and Updates to the database. After running a Quick search query, you can access these limiters from the Document results list.
Document type
You can limit your search to the document types below from the Document type checkboxes.
- All document types
- Book
- Journal article
- Press Release
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Example: Dutch wn LA
A list of available languages for this database is contained in the Language Browse index in Expert search.
Additionally, you may also refine results in the Language facet.
The language of the document is displayed after the source within the citation if it is other than English.
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query provides access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Controlled term
- Document type - (Expert only)
- Language - (Expert only)
- Source title
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year dropdown menus to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
CBNB is updated weekly.
In the Chimica database you can limit your search by Language, Browse indexes, Date, and Updates to the database. You can access these limiters from the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
Document type
You can limit your search to the document types listed below from the Document type checkboxes.
- All document types
- Article in Press
- Book
- Conference article
- Conference proceeding
- Erratum
- Journal article
- Retracted
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Example: Bulgarian wn LA
A list of available languages for this database is contained in the Language Browse index in Expert search.
Additionally, you may also refine results in the Language facet.
The language of the document displays at the end of the citation if it is other than English.
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query provides access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Author
- Author affiliation
- Controlled term
- Document type - (Expert only)
- Language - (Expert only)
- Source title
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year dropdown menus to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
Chimica is updated weekly.
In Compendex you can limit your search using Document type, Treatment, Language, Browse indexes, Date, and Updates to the database. You can access these limiters from the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
Document type
You can limit your search to the document types listed below from the Document type checkboxes.
- All document types (default)
- Article in Press - Articles in Press (AIPs) are documents in Compendex that have been accepted for publication but have not yet been assigned to a journal issue.
- Book - A systematic and complete treatise on a particular subject, published either complete in one volume or in a finite number of volumes.
- Book chapter - An individual section of a book with its own title and author statement.
- Conference article - A conference paper issued as part of a proceeding, whether published in a conference proceeding or in a journal.
- Conference proceeding - Publication containing papers presented at a conference, symposium, or other meeting and describing the publication of those proceedings as a whole.
- Dissertation - A lengthy or formal treatise or thesis usually written for advanced academic degrees.
- Editorial - A document that provides the editor's opinion on a specific topic.
- Erratum - Documents that cite an original document and correct an error in it.
- Journal article - An independent section of text, usually with its own title and author statement, appearing in an issue of a journal, a journal being a periodical appearing at regular intervals (generally more frequently than annually), and intending to be continued indefinitely.
- Note - Short discussion or commentary document
- Patents (before 1970) - The Engineering Village index for Compendex has document types for Patents (before 1970).
- Preprint - Preprints are preliminary versions of scholarly or scientific manuscripts that have not been peer-reviewed nor accepted for publication in a journal.
- Report chapter - An individual section of a report with its own title and author statement.
- Report review - An official or formal record of research results, research-in-progress, or other technical studies, generally published non-commercially by, and obtainable through, the agency conducting the research.
- Retracted - The removal of a previously published article from a journal.
- Standard - Published documents that establish specific requirements and are created to ensure consistency and reliability of methods, services, and products.
Treatment
The treatment is used to specify the slant or approach taken in the document.
- From the Document result list after running a Quick search, you can apply treatment as a limit from the Treatment radio buttons.
In Expert search, you can select the treatment from the Treatment Browse index or search the field directly as shown in the example below:
Example: HIS wn TR
- Treatments were added to Compendex records in 1985 and continue through mid-2008.
- Therefore, a search with a treatment limit is restricted to 1985 to mid-2008 records only.
- A document may have one or more treatment types.
- However, not all documents have been assigned treatment types.
The following treatments are used in Compendex:
- All Treatments (default)
- Applications - Used for documents describing the actual or potential use of a material, device, concept, computer program, instrument, system, technique, or other innovation. This code is also used for product reviews and technical disclosures.
- Biographical - Used for documents containing or consisting of the facts or events in a person's life.
- Economic - Used for documents focusing on an overview or analysis of a topic from an economic, cost data, or marketing perspective. Includes market studies.
- Experimental - Used for documents pertaining to, or based on, experimental method, including descriptions of experimental methods, apparatus, or results.
- General review - Used for documents providing an overall view of the subject, discussing its development, current research/status, state of the art, etc.
- Historical - Used for documents that consider a subject in its origin and/or subsequent historical developments.
- Literature review - Used for documents containing or consisting of extensive references, bibliographies, or other summaries of literature relevant to the topic of the document.
- Management aspects - Used for documents that deal with some management aspect of a topic and/or management methods in general. The management sciences and technology applicable to research, development, design, and production are included. This treatment type is also assigned to documents concerning socio-economic impacts of technology on society.
- Numerical - Used for documents that include numeric data compilations and/or statistical analysis. The numeric information contained may be physical properties, production, consumption, or socio-economic statistical data. This treatment will be assigned to documents reporting statistics of production, exports, imports, growth, etc., for various materials, commodities, products, or industries. This treatment is not used for mathematical analysis involving numerical techniques.
- Theoretical - Used for documents whose emphasis is on theory involving mathematical, deductive, or logical analysis. Mathematical analysis using numerical methods for determining the solution is also included in this category.
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query provide access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Author
- Author affiliation
- Classification code
- Controlled term
- Document type - (Expert only)
- ICS code
- Language - (Expert only)
- Publisher
- Source title
- Treatment - (Expert only)
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Example: (German wn LA) and (French wn LA) and (English wn LA)
A list of available languages for this database is contained in the Language Browse index in Expert search.
Additionally, you may also refine language results in the Language facet.
The language of the document displays at the end of the citation if it is other than English. If more than one language is given, they are separated by a comma and a space.
Example: French, German
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year dropdown menus to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
In the GEOBASE database you can limit your search by Document type, Language, Browse indexes, Date, and Updates to the database from the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
Document type
You can limit your search to the document types listed below from the Document type checkboxes.
- All document types - default
- Book - A work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author. It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself.
- Conference article - A conference paper issued as part of a proceedings whether published in a conference proceeding or in a journal.
- Erratum - Documents that cite an original document and correct an error in it.
- Journal article - An independent section of text, usually with its own title and author statement, appearing in an issue of a journal, a journal being a periodical appearing at regular intervals (generally more frequently than annually) and intending to be continued indefinitely.
- Retracted - The removal of a previously published article from a journal.
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Example: (French wn LA) OR (Hindi wn LA)
A list of available languages within this database is contained in the Language Browse index in Expert search.
Additionally, you may also refine results in the Language facet.
The language of the document is given at the end of the citation if it is other than English.
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query provide access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Author
- Author affiliation
- Controlled term
- Document type - (Expert only)
- Language - (Expert only)
- Source title
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available in the Date tab on the Expert search form and in the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year dropdown menus to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
In the GeoRef database, you can limit your search by Document type, Language, Browse indexes, Date, and Updates to the database. You can access these limiters from the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
Document type
You can limit your search to the document types listed below from the Document type checkboxes.
- All document types - default
- Book - a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author. It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself.
- Book chapter - A chapter or section of a non-serial publication (e.g., a book), usually containing one volume, but possibly consisting of a finite number of volumes.
- Conference article - A conference paper issued as part of a proceedings whether published in a conference proceeding or in a journal.
- Conference proceeding - A collection of all papers issued as part of a conference.
- Dissertation - A lengthy or formal thesis or treatise usually written for advanced academic degrees.
- In Process- Contains unedited records that are still in the process of being indexed, prior to their integration into the main GeoRef database.
- Journal article - An independent section of text, usually with its own title and author statement, appearing in an issue of a journal, a journal being a periodical appearing at regular intervals (generally more frequently than annually) and intending to be continued indefinitely.
- Map - A results-based mapping tool that plots geographical features from a result set onto a digital map, providing both context and insight into search results.
- Report chapter - An individual section of a report with its own title and author statement.
- Report review - An official or formal record of research results, research-in-progress, or other technical studies, generally published non-commercially by, and obtainable through, the agency conducting the research.
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Example: Ukrainian wn LA
A list of available languages within this database is contained in the Language Browse index in Expert search.
Additionally, you may also refine results in the Language facet.
The language of the document is given at the end of the citation if it is other than English.
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query provides access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Author
- Author affiliation
- Controlled term
- Document type - (Expert only)
- Language - (Expert only)
- Publisher
- Source title
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year dropdown menus to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
In the Inspec and Inspec Archive databases you can limit searches by Document type, Language, Browse indexes, Discipline, Treatment, Date, and Updates to the database. You can access these limiters from the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
Document type
Document types are used to describe the type of source publications from which indexed papers are taken. From the Document results list after running a Quick search query, you can limit your search to the document types listed below from the Document type checkboxes.
- All document types (default)
- Book
- Book chapter
- Conference article
- Conference proceeding
- Dissertation
- Journal article
- Patents (before 1977)
- Preprint
- Report chapter
- Report review
- Standard
- Unpublished paper
From Expert search, you can select the Document type from the Document type Browse index or search the field directly as shown in the example below.
Example: ca wn DT
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Examples:
Greek wn LA
(Chinese wn LA) OR (Iranian wn LA)A list of available languages within this database is contained in the Language Browse index in Expert search.
Additionally, you may also refine results in the Language facet.
The language of the document is given at the end of the citation if it is other than English.
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query provides access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Author
- Author affiliation
- Controlled term
- Discipline - (Expert only)
- Document type - (Expert only)
- IPC Code
- Language - (Expert only)
- Publisher
- Source title
- Treatment - (Expert only)
Discipline
You can limit your search to one of five main subject areas covered by Inspec.
On the Document results list after running a Quick search query, you can apply discipline as a limit from the Discipline radio buttons.
Disciplines available in the Inspec database are the following:
- All disciplines (default)
- Computers/control engineering - [Expert search code C]
- Electrical/electronic engineering - [Expert search code B]
- Information technology - [Expert search code D]
- Manufacturing and production engineering - [Expert search code E]
- Physics - [Expert search code A]
In Expert search, you can select the discipline from the Discipline Browse index or search the field directly as shown in the example below.
Example: E wn DI
Treatment
The treatment is used to specify the slant or approach taken in the document.
On the Document results list after running a Quick search query, you can apply treatment as a limit from the Treatment radio buttons.
The following treatments are available in Inspec:
- All treatments (default)
- Applications - when document describes use or implementation of an instrument device, etc., or where an application is involved
- Bibliography - anything with 50 or more references
- Economic - where document deals with economic commercial aspects, such as cost, pricing, and market forecasts
- Experimental - anything dealing with a test, trial, tentative procedure, or policy
- General review - overall view of subject; includes general approaches, state of the art reviews, and overviews. It is useful to researchers who want an overview of an unfamiliar field. Often it is layman's language or is non-technical.
- New development - anything new or novel in a patentable sense
- Practical - practical use; hands-on approach
- Product review - subset of the practical treatment type which was introduced in 1985. It includes product comparison tables and buyer's guides.
- Theoretical - analysis of a set of facts and their relationship to one another
In Expert search, you can select the document type from the Treatment Browse index or search the field directly as shown in the example below.
Example: ECO wn TR
Note: A record may have one or more types of treatments. However, not all records have been assigned treatments.
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and from the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year drop-downs to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
In the Knovel database you can limit your search by Document type, Language, Date, and Updates to the database. You can access these limiters from the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
Document type
From the Document results list after running a Quick search query, you can limit your search to the document types listed below from the Document type checkboxes.
- All document types - default
- Book
- Conference proceedings
- Journal article
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Example: English wn LA
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year dropdown menus to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
You can limit an NTIS database search by Language, Browse indexes, Date, and Updates to the database. You can access these limiters from the ocument results list after running a Quick search query.
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Examples:
Swedish wn LA
(Chinese wn LA) OR (German wn LA)A list of available languages within this database is contained in the Language Browse index in Expert search.
Additionally, you may also refine results in the Language facet.
The language of the document is given at the end of the citation if it is other than English.
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query provides access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Author
- Author affiliation
- Controlled term
- Language
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year dropdown menus to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
In the PaperChem database, you can limit your search by Document type, Language, Browse indexes, Date, and Updates to the database. You can access these limiters from the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
Document type
From the Document results list after running a Quick search query, you can limit your search to the document types listed below from the Document type checkboxes.
- All document types - default
- Conferences
- Erratum
- Journal article
- Other documents
- Patents
- Retracted
Language
From the Language radio buttons, you can limit your search to any of the following selections:
- All languages (default)
- Chinese
- English
- French
- German
- Japanese
- Russian
- Spanish
To search for more than one language, or to search for a language not listed in the Quick search options listed above, use Expert search.
Example: Italian wn LA
A list of available languages within this database is contained in the Language Browse index in Expert search.
Additionally, you may also refine language results in the Language facet.
The language of the document is given at the end of the citation if it is other than English. If more than one language is given, they are separated by semi-colons.
Example: English;German;French;Spanish
Browse indexes
After running a Quick search query, the Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list provide access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Author
- Author affiliation
- Controlled term
- Document type - (Expert only)
- Language - (Expert only)
- Publisher
- Source title
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. After running a Quick search query, these options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year dropdown menus to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
In the Patents Plus database, you can limit searches by Date and Updates to the database from the Document results list after running a Quick search query. Additionally, you can access these limiters along with ‘Browse indexes’ from Expert search. The Patents Plus database includes patents from the following patent offices:
- CN - China
- DE - Germany
- EP - Europe
- GB - United Kingdom
- JP - Japan
- US - United States
- WO - World Intellectual Property Organization - WIPO
Browse indexes
The Browse indexes tab on the Expert search form provides access to various indexes you can use in your searches. The indexes listed on this tab depend on the database(s) you have selected.
- Classification code
- Controlled term
Date
You can limit your search to a specific publication year range or database updates. These options are available within the Date tab on the Expert search form and the Document results list after running a Quick search query.
- Click the ‘Published’ radio button to use the publication year drop-downs to limit or expand the date range of your search.
- Click the ‘Updates’ radio button to limit your search to the database update from 1 week ago, 2 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, or 4 weeks ago.
In the patents search, the earliest year available is 1790.
The Patents Plus database is updated weekly.
Did we answer your question?
Related answers
Recently viewed answers
Functionality disabled due to your cookie preferences