Factiva User Guide: Searching
Simple Search
The simple search found on the Factiva homepage allows you to conduct a keyword search for set date ranges across all sources or predefined source groups (e.g. Major News and Business Sources).
Select the Options dropdown to expand the search bar and limit your keyword search by date and predefined source group.
Advanced Search
Use the Search Builder for advanced searching in Factiva.
- The most popular way to search Factiva is by keyword and date via the Free Text Search. Use these fields when you already know the title of an article or are trying to find articles on a certain topic.
- The Date field will automatically default to the last 3 months. Date can be selected from predetermined time frames (e.g. "In the last day", "In the last five years", etc.) or entered as a custom range.
- Punctuation marks (hyphens, periods, apostrophes, commas, and the slash) are optional. For example, entering "coca-cola" will retrieve the same results as entering "Coca cola."
- Search terms should be connected by AND or another boolean operator (see below). Factiva automatically searches for terms without operators as phrases.
| AND | Results must include both terms | Verizon AND marketing strategy |
| OR | Results can include either term | Verizon OR T-mobile |
| NOT | Results must exclude this term | wireless NOT cellular |
TIP: Use parenthesis to combine boolean terms. E.g. (verizon or T-mobile) and marketing strategy
Search Strategies
Use for: finding articles by keyword or title from specific news publication(s)
Search Fields: Free Text Search; Date; Source
- In Search Builder, enter the title or keywords into the top Free Text box.
- Narrow the date range as needed. If this is a current article, it is recommended you select the one week date range.
- Select the Source field and search for the publication title. When the desired publication comes up in the results, click on it to add to your search. NOTE: It's best the select the "- All sources" option for the publication you are looking for as this will ensure all content, including web and international, will pull up in your results.
- Once all three fields are complete, select the Search button.
Note: Due to changing article titles and constant real-time updates, typing the exact article title in the Free Text box may not bring up the results you expect. If a search brings up no results, try using keywords instead of the entire article title. Keywords and the combination of date and publication are typically enough to bring up the correct article.
E.g. "Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down governor’s extension of stay-at-home order" --> Wisconsin and stay-at-home
Use for: locating articles, press releases, and financial news from a specific company
Required Search Fields: Company; Free Text (optional)
Use the Company field in order to search for the company you want to research. Only select companies appear in this list. If you are looking for news on a company not listed, type the name in the Free Text box instead.
Adjust the date as needed. Further narrow a company search by pairing the company with keywords in the free text box.
To add multiple companies, search and add them one at a time to the selection. Factiva will automatically add a boolean OR in between each company. Click on the OR, or use the radio buttons to switch to a boolean AND.
Use to find articles on a particular country or region of the world. This search will return articles from US and International sources. For guidance on searching for publications FROM a specific country, see below.
Required Search Fields: Region
Use the Region field to select a region, country or city (select cities only). You can search via the search bar or select by drilling down from the continent.
Adjust the date as needed. Further narrow a region search by pairing the region/country with keywords in the free text box.
To add multiple regions/countries, search and add them one at a time to the selection. Factiva will automatically add a boolean OR in between each. Click on the OR, or use the radio buttons to switch to a boolean AND.
Use to find information on a topic from publications within a specific region/country of the world. This is especially useful if you are looking for international news sources.
Required Search Fields: Source; Free Text
Expand the Source field and change the Source Category to By Region. Now you can search for the region/country via the search bar or select by drilling down from the continent.
Adjust the date as needed. Further narrow a regional source search by pairing the region/country with keywords in the Free Text Search.
To add multiple regions/countries, search and add them one at a time to the selection. Factiva will automatically add a boolean OR in between each. Click on the OR, or use the radio buttons to switch to a boolean AND.
Expert Search provides pre-built queries that allow you to focus your search based on the following categories:
+ Belt and Road Initiative
+ Competitive Intelligence
+ Coronavirus
+ Energy
+ ESG/ Investment Stewardship
+ Life Sciences and Health Care
+ News Sentiment
+ People Search
+ Reputation Risk
+ Tax and Accounting
+ Trending Topics
+ Venture Capital
One of the most popular Expert Searches, News Sentiment, queries to find either positive or negative news about your topic.
Sample Search
- Date = In the last 3 months
- Company = Microsoft
- Factiva Expert Search = Negative News - Technology (English)
Note: Results in Expert Searches may not be 100% accurate as pre-built queries rely on set keywords and proximity criteria. Nevertheless, this search is a valuable tool when beginning to research a topic or company.
You can use Factiva to find TV and radio transcripts, wire and press releases.
Required Search Fields: Source; Free Text Search and/or Company
Expand the Source field and change the Source Category to By Type. Select either Transcripts or Newswire from the list. You can use the subcategories to further narrow your results.
TIP: to find earnings call transcripts, select Transcripts: Corporate --> CQ FD Disclosure (U.S.) and use the Company field to indicate the corporate entity.
Use Free Text Search to focus your results on specific news stations, keywords, staff, etc. (e.g. CNN and Wolf Blitzer)
Search Syntax
Factiva uses a unique syntax to refine your keyword searching. For best results, use the terms and operators below to create more precise searches.
| same |
Terms must be in the same paragraph The same operator also cannot be used repetitively, as in (wireless same cellular same telephone) |
wireless same cellular |
| WC | Word count. Specify how many words must appear in article results. |
WC>500
WC>2000 and verizon |
| w/# |
Terms must be within 1-10 words of each other (in the order entered) You must enter a number with this operator, between 1 and 10. |
President w/3 Obama |
| near# |
Terms must be within 1-500 words of each other (any order) Use with numbers 1-500. near1 is assumed if numbers are omitted. |
Verizon near5 sales |
| /F#/ |
Terms are in the first 1-500 words in an article You must enter a number with this operator, between 1 and 500. |
verizon/F50/ |
| * |
Searches for any characters after the asterisk |
child* finds child, childs, children, children's, childhood |
| ? | Replaces 1 character (use for variant spelling) | globali?ation finds globalization or globalisation |
| atleast# |
Results must include at least 1-50 mentions of the term. Use only against Search for free-text terms in: Full Article, not against specific fields. The atleast operator does not support nested terms, therefore, the search atleast10 (Olympics and Winter Games) is not valid. Restate the atleast operator in your strategy when searching for multiple key terms. |
atleast5 Verizon |
Dow Jones Intelligent Indexing™ Quick Reference
Factiva offers eight indexes which can be used independently or together. Use the fields below in combination with Date and Free Text Search to create powerful, targeted searches. Search suggestions can be found under the "Search Strategies" section.
Source: Indicate publication title, region, or type
Author: Search for articles by a specific writer
Company: Find all articles/news on a specific company/companies
Factiva Expert Search: Use pre-built searches to refine results
Subject: Limit by content type or specific news sections
Industry: Focus on articles relating to one or more industries
Region: Search for news about a region, country or major city
Language: Find only articles in selected languages
Free Text vs. Search Form
The Free Text Form allows users to enter keywords, boolean operators and shortcuts.
The Search Form allows you to use the free text search without having to enter the boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) while still being about to make the most of the the Dow Jones Intelligent Indexing™.
- "All of these words": The results will include all of the words entered (replaces AND)
- "At least one of these words": The results will include one or more of the words entered (replaces OR)
- "None of these words": The results will exclude all of those words.
- "This exact phrase": The results will bring the exact string of character (replaces quotation marks)
"More Options"
"More Options" allows you to limit the search to the full article, headline, author, etc. (default is set to full text).