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Proximity searching is a way to search for two or more words that occur within a certain number of words from each other. This can be ideal for those searches which have a number of phrases for a concept with combinations of the same words.
Scopus uses the W/ operator for proximity searching. This operator can be qualified by a number immediately after the operator to specify how close to each other the words must appear.
For a search on the topic of "What is the risk of mortality due to cell phone use in distracted teen drivers?" we might want to search the concepts cell phone using the following phrases:
It's clear that in this example the order that the words appear is important so we'll use the WITHIN operator. A proximity search for this concept might look something like this:
(cell OR cellular OR mobile OR smart) W/3 phone*
In this case we are asking Scopus to find any of cell, cellular, mobile, or smart if they are in front of and WITHIN a maximum of 3 words of the word phone or phones (or any variation of the root phone). We can adjust the proximity by changing the number.
This search string can simply be typed into the Scopus search box like you do with any basic keyword or phrase search.
Elsevier. “How Can I Best Use the Advanced Search? Proximity Operators.” Scopus: Access and Use Support Center, 16 Feb. 2024.