Proximity searching is based on how closely two or more search terms appear in the results.
PROXIMITY
words within a
specific number
frontline ADJ3 worker
=
frontline workers
workers on the frontline
frontline health care workers
Note: ADJ is used in Ovid databases, check other database for correct letters
Useful for:
Ovid advises that you don't repeat words or phrases either side of the ADJn operator, e.g. randomized adj (trial or controlled trial).mp
Ovid also advises you not to concatenate ADJ operators in search lines, e.g. health adjn (care adjn work) or (staff adjn attendant adjn trainer adjn provider)
Multiple proximity operators can be used in a search expression and multiple terms can be used on either side of each proximity operator. See the following examples:
tax N5 reform OR tariff N5 reform
(tax OR tariff) N5 reform
oil W3 (disaster OR clean-up OR contamination) N5 (fisheries OR habitats)
(baseball OR football OR basketball) N5 (teams OR players) N5 (greatest OR best)
1. If you use NEAR without /x, the system will find records where the terms joined by NEAR are within 15 words of each other. For example, these searches are equivalent:
salmon NEAR virus
salmon NEAR/15 virus
2. You cannot use the AND operator in queries that include the NEAR operator. For example, the following query is not valid:
TS = (Germany NEAR/10 (monetary AND union))