It's very possible! It's called a parameterized query. You can pass the parameter to a select query in a couple of ways. One is to have the query pick up a value in a text box, combo box, etc or have the user type in the value when the query executes.
Another way to check if a vaslue is in your table is to set up your index as unique, with no duplicates. That is. when the user enters data for a new record, a msg will pop up warning the user that the value already exists and duplicates are not allowed.