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Conference Calendar: Search Tips
If you are unfamiliar with searching, these step-by-step instructions
will help you get relevant results. For descriptions of the fields, see
the field help text. For more assistance with
searching, read the Frequently Asked Questions.
Performing a Simple Search
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Decide on a single word or concept that describes your topic. Enter word(s) in the appropriate field(s).
For example, if you are searching for conferences in Chicago, enter "chicago" in the City field.
Click on Search.
Truncation
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Right-hand truncation is available in this database by using *. Using
truncation enables you to search for more than one form of a word by entering
a root word and placing an * at the end of it.
For example, if you enter "dent*" in the Sponsor field, the database will
search for organizations with the root "dent" in their name.
Your results will include:
Punctuation
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The system does not understand most punctuation. If you are using any
form of punctuation in your search and get an error message or get no
results, remove the punctuation and try your search again.
Operator Within Fields
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The Operator within fields links terms within a field. Use it
if you enter more than one term in a field. This option is available for
the Title, Contact, Sponsor, City, Major Descriptors, and Notes fields.
For the other fields, either the operator or connects your terms,
or pull-down boxes, which allow you to choose terms, are offered.
Example: If you are searching for conferences in Washington and
Baltimore, you will enter both those cities' names in the City field,
and link them with an "operator," either and or or.
If you select and, the database will search
for conferences whose database entries (records) contain all of the words
you entered in that field.
If you select or the database will search for
conferences whose records contain any (one or more) of the words you entered
in that field. Use or if you are searching for more than one city
or country, or if you are searching for the broadest result possible.
If you are searching for a conference sponsor or city with two words
in its name, use quotes around the terms, such as "Whitman Walker" or
"Kansas City." For examples, see the Help Text
for Fields.
Operator to Connect the Fields
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The Operator to connect the fields below links the terms you
have entered in the different fields. It defaults to and, but you
may choose or from the pull-down menu.
The "and" operator will link all fields for which you have entered information.
Choosing "or" to link your fields operator will produce a broader search
because the database will search the fields separately.
Example: To find conferences sponsored by American Red Cross chapters in New
York, enter the following:
Searching Phrases
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If you want to search for two or more words next to each other in that
order, you must use quotes.
For example, to search for all conferences sponsored by state legislatures,
enter the following:
Refining Your Search Results
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If You Find Too Little:
If your search is not finding any organizations, or not finding as many
as you would like, you need to broaden it. Here are a few options:
Remove one of the terms from your search. If you are using too many terms, you might
be restricting the search too much.
Look for misspellings in the terms you have entered.
Change one of the terms to a broader term. For example, replace "peer counseling"
with "counseling."
Change an acronym to the full name of an organization. For example, replace "NAPWA"
with "National Association of People With AIDS."
Also see the Frequently Asked Questions.
If You Find Too Much:
If you get too many organizations, you need to narrow your search. Here
are a few options:
Make your wording more specific. For example, use "syphilis" instead of "sexually
transmitted diseases."
Add another word into a field. If you are searching for the word "health," you are
likely to find too many records. Limit the search by entering another
word to the same field, such as "mental." Also, add a term to the City
or State fields.
Also see the Frequently Asked Questions.
Interpreting Your Search Results
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When you click on Search, the database runs your search. The
results will appear on your screen. The documents are listed by descending
dates, so that the conference that is most in the future will appear first.
The database will display the maximum number of summaries you specified
on the search page. Records are displayed by number, city, state/country,
and organization name. Select a record to review its contents.
Stopwords
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A stopword is a word that you cannot use to retrieve documents. The three operators
and, or and not are stopwords. The system will give
you an error message if you search any of the stopwords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Included here is a list of frequently asked questions about the CDC
NPIN Conference Calendar Database. If you would like to submit a question
to this list, send a message to us.
Why doesn't the Conference Calendar Database retrieve any records
on my topic?
It is possible that a search may not find any records for the topic
you request. This might happen for several reasons:
You may be searching on a subject outside the scope of this database.
The words you used may be misspelled.
Your search may be too specific. You do not need to use every line on the search form.
Each line adds another restriction to the search.
My search results gave me too many records. How can I narrow my search?
To narrow your results, enter another term. You may enter this term
either in the same field or in another field.
Does it matter if I use upper or lower case letters?
No, the database does not recognize the difference between upper and
lower case letters.
How do I know what words to use?
If you think the database should have information on your topic but
you are not finding any records, you may be using a term that is different
from the one the database uses. Try to think of another way to phrase
the concept you're looking for. Also see Refining Your
Search.
Why don't all the fields show up for each organization?
Fields that do not show up do not include data. Not all records have
information in each field.
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