Proximity operators

In many databases, you can use proximity operators to decide how close selected search words should be to one another. This is useful if searching for a phrase renders your search too narrow.

As a rule, there are two types of proximity operators to choose between: one that does not attend to the order of words, and one which requires that the words are in the correct order. You must also provide the distance between words—how close the search terms should appear to one another. You do this by adding a number which describes how many words can be between the chosen search terms. Proximity operators can vary in different databases, so check the database’s help page to learn more about how proximity operators work in the database you are using.

Here are some examples:

NEAR = proximity operator in Web of Science. Adding a slash and a number defines how many words can separate your search terms.

NEAR/1 – the search terms must be adjacent or have a maximum of one word between them, in any order.

NEAR/2 – the search terms must be adjacent or have a maximum of two words between them, in any order… etc.

Example: tax NEAR/5 reform will find results that contain the words “tax” and “reform” within a distance of five words from one another, thus returning tax reform, reform tax, reform of income tax, and reform of personal income tax.

N = proximity operator in the Proquest databases (like ERIC, Sociological Abstracts, Econlit, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA), and the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)). Add a slash and a number to define how many words can separate your search terms.

N1 – The search terms must be adjacent or have a maximum of one word between them, in any order.

N2 – The search terms must be adjacent or have a maximum of two words between them, in any order… etc.

Example: tax N/5 reform will return results that contain the words “tax” and “reform” within a distance of five words from one another, thus returning tax reform, reform tax, reform of income tax, and reform of personal income tax.

W = proximity operator in Scopus. Add a slash and a number to define how many words can separate your search terms.

W/1 – The search terms must be adjacent or have a maximum of one word between them, in any order.

W/2 – The search terms must be adjacent or have a maximum of two words between them, in any order… etc.

Example: tax W/5 reform will return results that contain the words “tax” and “reform” within a distance of five words from one another, thus returning tax reform, reform tax, reform of income tax, and reform of personal income tax.

adj = proximity operator in Ovid databases (like ERIC, Psycinfo, Amed, Medline, and Embase). Add a number to define how many words can separate your search terms.

adj1 – The search terms must be adjacent or have a maximum of one word between them, in any order.

adj2 – The search terms must be adjacent or have a maximum of two words between them, in any order… etc.

Example from Medline (OvidSP): tax adj6 reform returns results that contain the words “tax” and “reform” within a distance of five words, and will return tax reform, reform tax, reform of income tax, and reform of personal income tax.

Note: The Ovid databases differ from other database, where adj2 corresponds to NEAR/1 or N/1 or N1 or W/1.

If you find proximity operators challenging, we advise that you get in touch with the library’s search help.

Source: PhD on track