SEARCHING
Search Tips
General Database Search Rules -- The database searches by word index. It ignores punctuation, case, common stop-words (e.g. a, an, the) and word order (unless otherwise instructed). To search on a partial word you must use a wild card to truncate (see explanation below).
Wild Cards -- If you are not sure of spelling or wish to broaden your search, you may use a wild card on both the Basic and Advanced search screens. An asterisk (*) takes the place of zero, one or more characters and can be used anywhere within a word. Examples:
"will*" will retrieve Will, Willis, William, wills, etc.
"*low" will retrieve low, flow, below, etc.
Searching by Name -- Word order does not matter, "tom baker" and "baker, tom" will retrieve the same results. If you are unsure of spelling use a wild card (see explanation above). If your search still retrieves no results, you might try broadening it by searching on the last name only.
Searching by Year -- You may search a single award year by selecting it from either one of the drop-down lists. To search on a span of years, select one end of the span from one list and the other end of the span from the second list (it does not matter whether you search earliest to latest or latest to earliest). Date span searches are inclusive of search years. Note: If you do not select a date or date span in conjunction with other search criteria, the database will automatically search across all award years.
Searching by Award Category -- To search for a single award category simply select it from the list. To search multiple award categories, hold the shift key and drag across contiguous selections or hold the control (ctrl) key and make individual selections from anywhere on the list (to unselect, click on a selected category again while still holding the control key). Note: If you do not select an award category or categories in conjunction with other search criteria, the database will automatically search across all award categories.
Basic Search Screen
The Basic search screen allows searching on the five main components of Academy Award data: film title, nominee, award category, award year and song title. You may search a single field or a combination of fields (e.g. Costume Design from 1940-1950). You may limit your search to winners only. See Search Tips for more help.
The database will select a display for you based upon the
Advanced Search Screen
The Advanced search screen expands the capabilities of the Basic screen by providing additional searchable fields, indexes and delimiters (checkboxes), and allowing the creation of more complex searches with the use of Boolean operators.
For general information on searching (e.g. using wild cards, how to select a date span, general database search rules, etc.) see the Search Tips section above.
Important note on viewing results: Since the data in many of these additional fields, or "bonus" fields, are only viewable in specific display screens, it is very important that you select an appropriate display in which to view your results (see Display Screens for detailed descriptions). If you do not select a display screen yourself, the database will display your results in Category (chron). If necessary, you can always select a different display screen from the Change View drop-down list after viewing your initial results to find a more appropriate display; you do not need to redo your search.
SEARCH FIELDS: CREATING A SEARCH STATEMENT
1) Select the field or index you would like to search from the Field/Index drop-down
list (see The Data section for detailed descriptions
of each field).
2) Enter your search term(s). If you selected an index, the Search Term window will provide you with a drop-down list or box from which to make a selection. (See the Search Tips section above for more help.)
3) Tell the database how to search on your entered terms by selecting one of the following from the drop-down list: "exact phrase," "all," or "any" (if you entered only one word as your search term you can skip this step). "Exact phrase" is the default and the most precise type of search; all your search terms must be present, proximate (i.e. next to each other) and in the correct order. "All" requires all of your search terms to be present, but does not take word order or proximity into account. "Any" is the broadest type of search and looks for any one of your individual search terms anywhere in the selected field; word order or the presence of your other search terms are not taken into account. Name searches (i.e. when searching in the Nominee or Director Credit fields) and index searches are predefined by the database and do not allow you to make a selection from this drop-down list.
4) If you wish to omit (or "not out") your search statement from other search criteria you've entered, check the "omit" box on the far right. (See also the Boolean Operators section below for additional information.)
Note: It is not necessary to use all three search lines in order to create a valid search. You can use only one, or up to all three, or none (if you are only searching by the Delimiter fields below).
BOOLEAN OPERATORS
Boolean operators allow you to combine search statements
to form complex queries. There are three Boolean operators: "and," "or" and
"not." The Advanced search screen allows you to combine statements with either
an "and" or an "or," either of which can be used in conjunction with "not" (the
"omit" checkbox).
And -- narrows search results. Each part of the search statements combined with an "and" must be present in the result. If you search for A "and" B, only records that contain both A and B will display. If no records contain both A and B, your result will be zero. Example: A search for Steven Spielberg "and" Best Picture will result in Spielberg's nominations for Best Picture only (not for any other category).
Or -- broadens search results. Records that contain any part of the search statements combined with an "or" will be a part of your results. If you search for A "or" B, your results will be all records that contain A and all records that contain B (which of course includes records that contain both A and B as well). Example: A search for Steven Spielberg "or" Best Picture will result in all nominations for Steven Spielberg (in any category) and all nominations in the Best Picture category (for all nominees, including Steven Spielberg).
Not ("omit" checkbox) -- To "not out" or "omit" search criteria, simply create a search statement and check the "omit" box at the end of the line. A "not" statement is generally used in conjunction with some other stated search criteria (A "not" B) and as such you will need to combine your search statements with either the "and" or the "or" Boolean operator. In almost all cases, you will want to use the "and" operator which further narrows search results. If you search for A "and" not B, your results will be records that contain A but do not contain B (i.e. you will not retrieve records that contain both A and B). Example: A search for Steven Spielberg "and" not Best Picture will result in Spielberg's nominations in all categories except Best Picture. This is also what you are doing when you combine a "not" statement with any of the delimiter fields (checkboxes) from the bottom of the search screen. Example: Find nominations for foreign language films (check the delimiter field checkbox) where the award category is not Foreign Language Film (select Foreign Language Film from the Award Category index and check the "omit" box); your results are nominations for foreign language films in all categories (i.e. acting, writing, directing, etc.) except the Foreign Language Film category. On the other hand, a "not" statement combined with the "or" operator will give you very different and very broad search results. It is unlikely you will ever want to use this combination. If you search for A "or" not B, your results will include A and also everything that is not B (i.e. C, D, E, etc.). Example: A search for Steven Spielberg "or" not Best Picture will result in all records that are not Best Picture (i.e. records for every other award category) and also all of Steven Spielberg's nominations (including his Best Picture nominations).
Order of Evaluation -- This only becomes an issue when you use all three search statement lines. In this database, statements combined with an "or" are evaluated before statements combined with an "and." Example: A search for Directing "and" Steven Spielberg "or" Woody Allen will result in all of the directing nominations for both Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen (had the "and" been evaluated first you would get Steven Spielberg's directing nominations and all of Woody Allen's nominations, not just his nominations for directing).
DELIMITERS
Delimiter fields (checkboxes) allow the user to define or further refine a search
by the specified criteria (e.g. foreign language film, female nominee, etc.; see The Data section for detailed descriptions
of each field) by simply checking the appropriate box (to undo your selection,
check the box again). These fields may be used alone or in combination with
each other or other search fields available on the Advanced screen.
Examples: You may search for nominated film debuts for women by checking the Women Only Delimiter and Debut Delimiter checkboxes. You may search for all posthumous nominations and awards by checking the Posthumous Delimiter (no other input is required). You can find all female award winners in the Art Direction category by creating a search statement for the award category and checking the Winners Only Delimiter and the Women Only Delimiter.
Note: Some delimiters are mutually exclusive (opposites) of each other and will not allow you to check both boxes at the same time (e.g. Men Only and Women Only; Features Only and Shorts Only).