How to Search ScienceDirect databases: Search History

This function is only available in Personal Login account.

Search history stores up a maximum of 20 search queries.

It keeps searches done for the past 7 days.   If you wish to save them for a longer time for later use, use the Save query feature at Search Results display instead.

To add your current search queries to the history.  You must turn on the Search History function before executing any searches.

NOTE: All searches executed when the Search History is turn off will not be saved in the search history.  

At the search form, toggle the Search History : Turn On or Turn Off, to use or disable the search history. You will be prompted to login, if you had not done so.  

To view the list of search history, scroll down the page of the search form.

Only the last 10 statements would be shown, to view the earlier statements click on .

Click to check the boxes against the queries you wish to combine and click on Combine with AND if all the terms must appear in the search.  Combine with OR is useful to eliminate duplicates, especially if you feel the some queries would create similar results.

At Results column, click on the result number to view the Search Result.  If the results are out-dated, ScienceDirect will automatically re-execute the search and display updated results.

If the current database selected do not match the database that the queries have been executed in, these queries will not be available for combined searching.  For example, in the above screen, the current database is BIOSIS Previews and only those set executed previously in BIOSIS Previews would be highlighted for further combine searching.

At Action column, click on

• re-run to execute the search query.
• edit to modify your search in the query form.
• delete to erase the search from the history list.

Once you re-run or edit the query, the current database setting would match the last selected search query.

To delete all searches from the list, click on Clear History.  This function do not delete any of your saved queries.

To obtain a printout of just the history, click on Printable History, use the Browser print icon for printing purposes.

Click on for the online help that gives many good examples on techniques of search formulae, special characters and numeric values.