Search Tips
Quick Order | Search by Word(s) | Search by Field of Interest | Advanced Search
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There are general ways to search for products. Whichever method you choose, our powerful search engine makes it easy to find what you're looking for.
1. Quick Order
With Quick Order, reordering a favorite product or ordering from a catalog is a breeze!
Simply type the item number in the Enter Item Number box and click the GO! button. You'll either go directly to that product's detail screen, where you can place your order, or to a results list that gives you the choices you are looking for.
2. Search by Word(s)
To search across our entire database, regardless of your field of interest, type a keyword or words in the Search by Word(s) box and click on Search. This will deliver a list of all titles on the particular topic you've typed in.
Search by Word(s) enables you to locate all products pertaining to the topic you entered, as well as products with the word or words in their title.
With Search by Word(s), you can be as general or as specific as you wish. For example, you can type in "abuse" and receive our entire list of child abuse titles, or you can type in "physical abuse" and receive a list of titles pertaining only to child physical abuse.
Because Search by Word(s) enables you to search across all fields of interest, your results list may be very long. Here are some general tips to remember when searching by word(s):
Less is more. More is less.
The fewer words you search on, the larger your search results will be. And -- you guessed it -- the more words you search on, the narrower your search results.
Our search engine performs "and" searches. That means that when you search on more than one word, you'll receive a list of products that relate to all the words you typed in.
For example, you'll receive a larger list of titles if you search on only "abuse" than if you search on "sexual abuse."
If you search on "sexual abuse," you'll receive a list of products that pertain to child sexual abuse only ("sexual" AND "abuse"). But if you search on "abuse," you'll receive a list of titles on child abuse in general, as well as titles on child sexual abuse, child physical abuser, child neglect, etc. No special formatting needed.
To search on multiple words, simply leave a space between each word. For instance, if you're looking for titles on violence and families, type "violence families" in the Search by Word(s) field.
You don't have to use quotation marks, commas, plus signs, or Boolean operators ("and," "or," "not") between words, as our search engine will ignore them. Expand your search by using the singular form of a word.
Let's say you're searching for materials on "families" and get few or no matches. Try searching on "family" instead. Spelling counts.
Our search engine takes things very literally. So if you mistype a word, it will look for that exact spelling.
If the search engine does not find that word in our database, it will deliver a "no results" screen. It will not look for the closest approximation to the word(s) you typed in. Searches are not case-sensitive.
You don't have to worry about using upper- and lowercase letters. For example, you can type "stress," "Stress," or "STRESS" in the Search by Word(s) field and receive the same list of products.
3. Search by your Field of Interest
For many of you, this will be the BEST way to search because it takes you on a guided tour of the materials we have on the topics that interest you most. We've done all the work for you by assembling lists of products within specific categories pertaining to your Field of Interest.
Drilling down through our quick and easy menus ensures that you'll see everything we have to offer on a particular topic within your Field of Interest, and virtually guarantees that you'll find what you're looking for.
To search by Field of Interest:
Click on your Field of Interest on the left of the search screen. You'll then see a menu of general categories within your Field of Interest. Click on the category that interests you, and keep clicking on topics until you find a list of applicable titles.
If there is only a single topic, please click on it to advance the system to the next level. You will need to proceed through four levels before finding a list of applicable titles.
4. Advanced Search
Advanced Search enables you to zero in on the products you want by applying a variety of search filters.
With Advanced Search, you can narrow your search by:
- Word(s)
- What's New
- Reading Audience
- Product Format
- Language
or any or all of the above.
For example, let's say you only want to see a list of comic books on child abuse. No booklets. No folders. Just comic books. You would simply type "child abuse" in the Enter Word(s) box, then check the "Comic Books" box under By Product Format.
Like Search by Word(s), Advanced Search searches our entire database, regardless of your specific field of interest.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when using Advanced Search:
For the narrowest results:
Type a word or words in the Enter Word(s) box, then check ONE box under each of the remaining search filters. For broader results:
Type a word or words in the Enter Word(s) box, then check MORE THAN ONE box under one or more search filters.
For example, clicking more than one Reading Audience will give you more results. Clicking "Community/Family Educators" and "Parents/Families" will give you a results list that includes all titles designed for professionals as well as all titles designed for parents and families.
To narrow your search, click only one reading audience and enter a term in the By Word(s) field. For example, to find titles for foster parents, click on "Parents/Families" and enter "foster" in the By Word(s) field.
For example, if you want to find out what we offer for booklets, simply check the "Books/Booklets" box under By Product Format and hit Search! These searches generally create large results lists-so you might want to enter a word or Reading Audience to narrow the search.
Because your search can become extremely finite with Advanced Search, you may receive no results. If this happens, try broadening your search by eliminating one or more search filters.
Frequently Asked Search Questions
Q. I've done a Search by Word(s) and my results list is too long. How can I narrow the list?
A. You can narrow your search results by adding more words to your search, or by using Advanced Search and checking specific reading audiences or formats.
Q. My list of results is too short. How can I get more results?
A. If you've done a Search by Word(s), you can delete one or more words from your entry in the Search by Word(s) box.
If you've used Advanced Search, click more options or unclick all options in a section.
Q. I didn't get any results. Did I do something wrong?
A. Probably not. There may not be any products that match your search criteria.
You may want to recheck your spelling or make sure you've typed your search criteria in the correct field. For instance, you may have accidentally typed a word instead of an item number in the Quick Order box.
You can also try broadening your search as described in Search by Word(s) above.
Q. To order, does my browser need to be set to "accept cookies"?
A. Yes.
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