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• Spellcheck!
  If you're like us, you've NEVER made a mistake...but hey, there's a first time for everything! Check your spelling.
   

• Keep it simple
  When keyword searching, the simpler the better. For example: instead of "asteroid hyalosis", try "floaters."  Be sparing with plurals...singular words are better and simpler.
   

• Use multiple words
  Using multiple words will return more refined results than a single word. For example, typing "optic nerve sheath fenestration" will return more relevant results than typing just "optic nerve." (Keep in mind that relevant results are returned even if they don't contain all query terms.) If multiple words don't return a hit, try singular.  If you don't get results from "sub-retinal hemorrhage", try just "hemorrhage."
   

• Be obvious
  If the less-obvious keyword doesn't work, try the more-obvious. If "lens opacity" returns no results, try "cataract."
   

• Use similar words
  The more similar words you use in a search, the more relevant your results will be. For example, if you're searching for "macula", try these keywords: macula, fovea, retina.
   

• Try another angle
  Think of different "angles" of your keyword. If "NVE" doesn't return your desired findings, try something like "diabetic retinopathy" or "PDR."
   

• Quote...unquote
  Use quotation marks to find words which must appear adjacent to each other, for example, "corneal surgical procedures. "Otherwise, the search results will include the words cornea, surgical and the word procedures, but not necessarily in that order. The words may appear anywhere, and in any order, within the document. This would return a large group of unrelated results.
  
  Note: if you are using the Advanced Search Form with radio buttons for "any," "all," and "phrase," then quotes can only be used when the "any" radio button is selected. Quotes are ignored if the "all" or "phrase" radio buttons are selected.
   
• Plus or minus
  Use a plus sign when your search term or phrase must appear in the search results. Use a minus sign to indicate undesirable term(s). The plus sign tells the search engine that a certain word or phrase is required in the search results, and a minus sign indicates that a word or phrase must be absent in the search results.

  Note: A phrase must be contained within quotation marks. Leave no spaces between the plus or minus sign and the term.

  Note: if you are using the Advanced Search Form with radio buttons for "any," "all," and "phrase," then plus and minus can only be used when the "any" radio button is selected. Plus and minus are ignored if the "all" or "phrase" radio buttons are selected.
   

• Wildcards
  Wildcard searches can expand the number of matches for a particular request. The * character is used as the wildcard character.
  
  For instance, searching for wh* will find the words what, why, when, whether, and any other word that starts with wh. Searching for *her* will find the words here, whether, together, gathering, and any other word that contains her anywhere in the word.
  
  Wildcards may be combined with the standard plus (+) and minus (-) modifiers, quotes for phrases, as well as the field search specifiers. +wh* -se*ch will find all pages which have a word that starts with wh and which does not contain a word that starts with se and ends with ch. "wh* are" will find the phrases where are, what are, why are, etc.