[Eril-l] [External] search result weirdness PsycINFO EBSCOhost new UI

[Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list]

Hi Lynda,

I wondered this as well- when I tested it, there is a small difference in the number of results when using quotes, but not enough to explain the large result gap when all is put together. (XB pregnan* finds 58,999 results while XB "pregnan*" finds 58,966 results)

Best,
Jamie
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From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org> on behalf of Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
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Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [External] search result weirdness PsycINFO EBSCOhost new UI


Could the non-standard quotes around the last term be relevant?  I don't have PsycINFO on EBSCO so can't try it, but I've seen issues before where smart quotes aren't handled like regular quotes.  Does XB "pregnan*" or XB pregnan* behave differently?



Lynda.



From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org> On Behalf Of Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2025 10:29 AM
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Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [External] search result weirdness PsycINFO EBSCOhost new UI



Hi Erin,



I just gave this a try and can confirm that if I copy and paste those queries into the APA PsycInfo basic search bar, I get those same strangely small results. However, when I reconstructed this query:



(DE "expectant mothers") OR (DE pregnancy) OR (DE "pregnancy outcomes" OR (DE "obstetrical complications") OR (DE "premature birth") OR (XB “pregnan*”) 



--using Advanced Search, I got 85,127 results. Unfortunately, the advanced search feature isn't advanced enough to fully reconstruct the longer query, so this isn't necessarily the best work-around. Hopefully this can help point EBSCO support in the right direction, though.



Best,

Jamie



Jamie Coen (he/him)

eResources and Licensing Librarian

University Library | Atlanta Campus
100 Decatur St. SE | Atlanta, GA 30303

[cid:image001.png at 01DBF254.3AEC7030]<https://library.gsu.edu/>



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Subject: [External] [Eril-l] search result weirdness PsycINFO EBSCOhost new UI



Hi All,

My EBSCO ticket is slowly making its way through the support center, but I was wondering if any of you super searchers can verify the weird results we're seeing in PsycInfo via EBSCOhost new UI. Full details below.

Thanks for any insight!

Erin

Erin Finnerty (she / her)
Electronic Resources Librarian
Temple University | Philadelphia, PA

erinf at temple.edu<mailto:erinf at temple.edu>

___

Our librarians reported unexpected behavior and numbers of results when using the PsycINFO search for a systematic review. Is there an issue with the logic or are these searches malfunctioning?

This is one search block that is only giving us 2 results:
((DE "Expectant Mothers") OR (DE Pregnancy) OR (DE "Pregnancy Outcomes") OR (DE "Obstetrical Complications") OR (DE "Premature Birth") OR (XB “pregnan*”) OR (XB gestation*)  OR (DE Fertility) OR (DE "Fertility Enhancement") OR (DE "Infertility") OR (XB fertilit*)  OR (XB infertilit*) OR  (XB "premature birth*") OR (XB "expecting mother*" ) OR (XB "pregnant adult*") OR (XB "high risk pregnanc*") OR (XB "fertility treat*") OR (XB "infertility treat*") OR (DE Sexual Reproduction) OR (DE "Reproductive Health") OR (DE "Reproductive Health Care") OR (DE "Reproductive Technology") OR (DE "Sterilization (Sex)") OR ((XB reproduc*) AND ((XB health*) OR (XB medicine) OR (XB behavior*) OR (XB technique*) OR (XB technolog*) OR (XB histor*) OR (XB steriliz*))) OR (DE Parents) OR (DE Parenting) OR (XB parent*) OR (DE Mothers) OR (XB mother*))

If only include the first five descriptors, I get 2530:
(DE "Expectant Mothers") OR (DE Pregnancy) OR (DE "Pregnancy Outcomes") OR (DE "Obstetrical Complications") OR (DE "Premature Birth")

Just searching (XB “pregnan*”) gives me 58,930.

Now if I try to put those two searches together with OR, I get 4 results!
(DE "Expectant Mothers") OR (DE Pregnancy) OR (DE "Pregnancy Outcomes") OR (DE "Obstetrical Complications") OR (DE "Premature Birth") OR (XB “pregnan*”) 



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