Want help finding information quickly & efficiently? During this hands-on session you’ll learn some of the tips & tricks librarians use when searching databases. We’ll talk about library databases, explore their unique search features, and give you time to experiment with the resources with a librarian available to help answer any questions you may have.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012: 3:00 p.m.-3:50p.m. Krumm 26 W
Thursday, April 5, 2012: 11:00 a.m.-11:50 a.m. Krumm 26 W
Formulating Your Search
- Use basic resources (like encyclopedias or online resources) to give you ideas for search terms or synonyms. It is easy to get stuck on one phrase to search, which could severely limit what you are able to find. Thinking outside the box will help you find more articles.
- We recommend students start broad and narrow as they go when searching in databases.
- Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT, and parentheses) wisely.
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| Boolean AND |
- AND: narrows the search to include both search terms you list
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| Boolean OR |
- OR: broadens the search to include and of the search terms you list
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| Boolean NOT |
- NOT: narrows the search to exclude the term
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| Boolean Parentheses |
- Parentheses around words: works similarly to parentheses in math, by grouping search terms together and working from left to right.
Many of these symbols and search tips will work with a variety of different databases. Some databases will have another symbol or a slightly different layout that is very similar to the ones we will look at in today's session.
- Use the truncation symbol to expand your search. Rather than searching for all of the variations of a word, most databases allow you to use the * symbol to find word variants. If you were searching for information on libraries you could type "comput*" which would search for: compute, computers, computer, computing, etc. The database finds articles with all of the variant terms. You can also use the * between words to find a missing word (i.e. searching "The * Wives of Windsor" would lead you to results about Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor).
- Another special symbol is the wildcard symbol (represented by a question mark). The wildcard replaces an unknown character within a word. The wildcard only replaces a single character whereas the truncation allows for several characters to be replaced at the end of the word. Searching using wom?n would yield results showing woman and women.
- Another wildcard symbol, the # sign, allows for variant spellings with more than one character (i.e. neighb#r would allow for neighbor and neighbour; another example would be m#stache finding results with mustache or moustache).
- Using quotation marks around multiple search terms within the same box allows for exact phrase searching.
Using Database Limiters
You may choose to use some (or none) of the limiters found in your database. Starting without limiters will keep your search broad; you may add limiters as you go.
- Full text: Full text can be deceiving. Many of the articles indexed in databases we can gain access to, even if they are not immediately available in full text format. Articles and books can be requested through interlibrary loan (borrowed from other libraries). Limiting your search to full text right away eliminates a wide range of resources--one of which might just be that perfect resource you've been looking for. Unless something is due right away, we recommend not using the full text limiter.
- Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals: Depending on the nature of your research, you may wish to exclude any popular or non-scholarly materials. Using the Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals limiter will eliminate journals and magazines that are not peer reviewed.
- Document Type: How many times have you searched for something and found an abstract that sounds perfect, only to realize that the resource in the database isn't an article like you were looking for? Or maybe you're looking for book reviews discussing a recent publication. Here you can select a specific document type.
- Published Date: Set limits on when the materials were published.
- Publication Type: Choose from a list of types of publications.
- Language: Depending on what you are searching for, you may wish to limit your results to English language only.
Once you've completed your search you can modify your limiters or use the Thesaurus, the Subject Thesaurus Heading, Publication, Geography, etc. using the menu on the far left side of the window with your results list. *Note* If you modify your search terms (at the top of the page) it will reset many of the limiters you put in place.
- Subject Terms: You may also wish to browse subject terms. To do so, look at the very top of the page (in the blue menu bar). Then select "Subject Terms"--from here you can enter in a term to see which subject headings are available. Put a check in the box of the subject heading you want to use, then click the "Add" button (in the green bar), then click search (next to the search box at the top of the page).
Searching Multiple Databases
- EBSCO allows you to search multiple databases at the same time. To do so, select one of the EBSCO databases from the library's "Journals" page. Directly above the boxes where you enter in search terms, click "Choose databases."
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| Select "Choose databases" above the search box. |
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| This box will appear--choose as many or as few as you'd like to search. |
Saving or Sharing Search Results
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| Alert / Save / Share your search |
- You can copy & paste a persistent link to your search using the Alert/Save/Search button found just above your search results, on the right side of the screen. By saving this link somewhere, you can come back to your search if you are interrupted--or you can email the search to a student or colleague to share some of what you found. You can also set up alerts to receive notifications about certain topics or journals via email. See the links below for instructions on setting up these alerts.
Setting Up EBSCO Journal Alerts
Using MyEBSCOhost
You can find other helpful library guides in the Library Portal on MyView (Faculty Research Portal): https://myview.grandview.edu/academics/libraryportal/faciltyresearchportal/default.aspx
Using the Electronic Journals List
- If you are interested in browsing journal titles by subject, or know a specific journal title you are looking for, you can use the Electronic Journals List (EJL) to search and browse. You can find the EJL on the library's homepage, under "Journals"--then at the bottom of that section (the second to last link) is the link for the EJL.
