Search Basics: Free-Text vs. Field Limits
Database searching allows tremendous flexibility, but the methods of searching are largely determined by the way the records are constructed and the search engine programming.
Free-text searching typically searches every word in every record in a database. Field limit (filter) searching searches words only in the designated field.
Almost all search engines allow some level of free-text searching. Academic databases and library catalogs have a high level of limits or filters. Some important fields to be familiar with are: subject, title, author.
Consult the Types of Searches Module and Search Strategies Module to learn more about specific types of searching and techniques.