The query tool contains six sections

1) Advanced search options
2) Genes
3) Other factors
4) Diseases/conditions
5) Selected topics
6) Document source

A user may start within any of the six sections to create a search. 

More than one item can be selected within each section.  If selecting more than one item within the gene, factor or disease/condition sections, the user can request the union of items  (choose “OR”) or the intersection of items (choose “AND”).   For example, if you select BRCA1, BRCA2 in the gene section, selecting “OR” will return those documents that reference BRCA1 or BRCA2 or both. However, selecting “AND” will return only those documents that reference both genes in the same document. 

Queries can be created using only one or all six sections.    Since there are four sections within the query tool that may be used to create a search, queries can be submitted using a broad search strategy by selecting any single item of interest (e.g., genetic testing) or a narrow search strategy by selecting search items from each section (e.g., MTHFR gene, folic acid, and birth defects).

Items can be selected from each section as follows:

To Search by Advanced Terms

The additional search terms provided in this section allows the user to search for a document by title, author, year of publication or organization.

One can:
Enter a keyword or words to search through all titles in the system for a text match.

There are two ways to select an author in the query tool:

1. Enter the first letter of the author’s last name and choose from the resulting list. You may continue to refine the resulting list by returning the cursor to the entry box and entering additional letters.
2. click on Author Menu to choose from a list of all authors indexed in the information system.  To select an author, highlight the author in the list box, then double click or click “Add”. The author will be added to your current selected author list.

To Search by Genes

The list of genes (Gene Menu) is based on documents that are referenced in the information system.  The list is not a list of all known genes. If a gene is not listed, no document exists in the system that indexes that gene.

There are two ways to select a gene in the query tool: 

1. enter the first letter of the gene symbol and choose from the resulting list. If you are unsure of the standard nomenclature for a gene, use the Genome DataBase (GDB) search tool which is hyperlinked to the left.  
2. click on Gene Menu to choose from a list of all genes indexed in the information system.  To select a gene, highlight the gene in the list box, then double click or click “Add”. The gene symbol will be added to your current selected gene list. 

To Search by Factors (personal and environmental)

The list of factors (Factor Menu) is based on documents that are referenced in the information system and has been organized into six categories.  The list is not a list of all potential interactive factors. 

There are two ways to select a factor in the query tool:

1. enter the first letter of the factor name and choose from the resulting list.
2. click on Factor Menu to choose from one of six factor categories.  Click on a category to view resulting list. To select a factor, highlight the factor name in the list box, then double click or click “Add”. The factor will be added to your current selected factor list. 

If selecting multiple factors, choose “OR” if you want to find all documents that reference any of your selected factors or “AND” if you want documents that reference all of your selected factors in the same document.

To Search by Disease/conditions

The list of disease/conditions is based on documents that are referenced in the information system.  Wherever possible, they have been coded and named according to the ICD-9 standards.  The list is not a list of all potential diseases/conditions. 

There are two ways to select a disease/condition in the query tool:

1. enter the first letter of the disease/condition and choose from the resulting list.
2. click on Disease/Condition Menu to choose from one of 18 categories.  17 categories represent ICD-9 categories, the 18^th represents conditions not defined by ICD-9.  Click on a category to view resulting list. To select a disease/condition, highlight the name in the list box, then double click or click “Add”. The disease/condition will be added to your current selected disease/condition list

If selecting multiple disease/conditions, choose “OR” if you want to find all documents that reference any of your selected disease/condition or “AND” if you want documents that reference all of your selected disease/condition in the same document.   

It is possible to begin a search in this section or further refine the search by selecting one or more topic categories.  When the cursor is placed on the checkbox, a description of that topic is provided.


To To Search by Document Source

Click to submit query

Reset

Click to clear existing query and begin a new query