FAQ: What are limiters and how can I use them?

Limiters

Many databases in the A-Z Database List and the Online Library Catalog allow users to limit their search results by certain criteria (these are called "limiters" or sometimes "filters").

These options are often located somewhere on the database search page or results list as drop-down menus or checkboxes. Sometimes limiters are available on an "Advanced Search" page within a database or online catalog.

Some common and useful limiters include: date of publication, material type, full text, peer-reviewed articles only, language, and more.

For example, if you use the limiter "Material Type" to limit your search results to journal articles, then when you search for your topic the only type of material you should get as a result will be journal articles.

In the Multi-Search, you have these options to limit your search results:

Most Useful For

• Allows users to narrow down search results by various criteria (e.g. scholarly sources only)
• Allows users to find results based on very specific criteria (e.g. date of publication)

Cautions

• Available limiters may vary from database to database
• Using too many limiters or poorly chosen limiters may bring back few or no results