Search FAQ

Searching on SpringerLink is the easiest and quickest way to find exactly the content you need. When you enter a search term or phrase into the SpringerLink "Search For" field at the top of SpringerLink or in the left sidebar search on a content page, the SpringerLink search engine will locate and match articles, book chapters, books, and journals that cite your word or phrase.

How do I search for content on SpringerLink?

The search functionality is always available at the top of every page on the SpringerLink website. By typing or pasting a word or phrase into the Search For text field at the top of SpringerLink, you can click Go to search all SpringerLink content. If you are looking for a specific journal, book or eReference you can use the "Publication Title" search field offered beneath the "Search For" text field.

What exactly is being searched?

When you enter a search term or phrase into SpringerLink, you are searching the title, the abstract and the full text (including authors, affiliations and references) of every article, book chapter and protocol. You are also searching for journal, book and eReference titles matching the search criteria.

What is the difference between basic and advanced search?

Basic search, which is the search that is available directly from the banner on SpringerLink or from the left sidebar on a content page is a general search that searches the title, abstract, and full text of all content on SpringerLink. Additionally, you can specify author, publication title, volume, issue and page information from a citation. Advanced Search on SpringerLink allows you to search specifically within the:

Full text, Titles and Abstracts, or Title Only Authors and Book Editors Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Specific content categories such as Journals, Books, or Protocols Specific publication date ranges Title, ISSN, ISBN, volumes, issues, and page numbers (Citation)

Results may be sorted by Relevancy or by Publication Date. A user can combine multiple Advanced Search fields to tailor the results to specific needs. Note that Volume, Issue, and Page

Number searching works in combination with Citations searching and is only available if a valid publication title, ISSN, or ISBN is entered.

How are search results presented?

Search results are sorted by relevancy. Highly relevant content contains clear evidence for matching your search term or phrase by reference of how many times your search term or phrase appears in an article, book chapter, reference work entry, or Protocol.

Why isn't there a separate search for eReferences or Book Series in Advanced Search?
On SpringerLink, eReferences and Book Series are categorized as Books. When you search within Book the results will contain content from monographs, Book Series, and eReferences.

Can I use Boolean search terms on SpringerLink?

Yes, SpringerLink allows for use of all standard Boolean search operators. Boolean search operators can be used between search terms to search for words in combination. The most common Boolean search operator is the word AND. The complete list of Boolean search operators that are supported on SpringerLink are AND, OR, and NOT.

Can I use Wildcard searching on SpringerLink?

You already are using wildcard searching when entering any search term on SpringerLink. SpringerLink offers automatic wildcard searching that aligns with the concept of word stemming. The idea of a wildcard is a form of query expansion that allows the user a broader list of results based on the root of a word. Some search engines require the user to enter an asterisk (*) before or after a search term to conduct wildcard searching. SpringerLink does not require an asterisk and assumes wildcard searching with every search conducted. SpringerLink searching will locate all words that begin with or contain within the complete word the root word that is searched.

Why do I locate search results where I cannot see the term or phrase searched within the immediate results?
All content on SpringerLink is indexed for fulltext searching. This means that the word or phrase you are searching may not be available in the title or the abstract, but the word or phrase may be available only within the fulltext of the article, book chapter, or reference work entry.

Can I search for chemical symbols and mathematical equations on SpringerLink?

Yes. Chemical symbols can be searched for and found on SpringerLink, but we recommend that you enclose chemical symbols like Ga and Ti in quotation marks to return exact results. As with chemical symbols, we recommend that mathematical equations be enclosed in quotation marks when being searched for on SpringerLink. Not all mathematical equations can be translated into plain text for readability by our search engine. Complex mathematical equations require an image in the text for proper display in PDF and HTML fulltext documents. Images cannot be searched for and found on SpringerLink. Please visit http://www.LaTexSearch.com for in depth equation searching.

Can I set up a program to scrape or crawl SpringerLink for content or search results?
No. Springer does not allow content or search results to be systematically downloaded or collected from a program that is intended to scrape or crawl results. SpringerLink content is protected from such systematic downloading programs and will contact any researcher or library that attempts to use the content in a way that is deemed as malicious.

What is the left sidebar and where can I filter my results?

The left sidebar appears on all pages on SpringerLink whether you are browsing through content or reviewing search results and provides additional functionality for locating the content you need. You can click on links offered in the left sidebar at anytime. The default view of the left sidebar contains Subject Collections and Subjects. The Show Filters tab displays refinements like Subjects, Publications, SpringerLink Date, and Language content options. Click the Hide Filters tab to see the Subject Collections and Subjects only.

Where did the refinements go that I used on the previous SpringerLink site?
The refinements like Content Type and Copyright year are still available on the new SpringerLink, but they are now called Filters. In the left sidebar from a browse or search results page, click the Show Filters tab to see the refinements options that you used to see on the previous SpringerLink.