 |
- Examples of the basic search
screens for ProQuest,
Academic
Search Elite (EBSCOhost), and SIRS
are shown below.
On the left are examples of the default search screen, which
in all three products is a version of a simple keyword search,
with a few preselected limiters
(more focused results) or expanders
(a higher number of results).
On the right are examples of the structured search screen,
where you can develop a more expanded query that targets
specific fields for searching.
| Simple
keyword option |
Structured
(Boolean) option |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
- Developing a good query can
be quite tricky.
- Limit the number of terms in the query to two or three.
- Do not use articles of speech (i.e., the, an, a) or
very short words (i.e., is, he, to). These are called
"Stop Words" in the search engine world: they
are too common in language to do anything but bog the
system down.
- If you get no results,
or way too many results from your keyword query, try
the structured search option.
- The structured search will
always include the author, title, and subject
fields. In addition, depending on the product, other fields,
such as full text, abstract, publisher, geographical location,
etc., may be available to search.
- It is often useful to play around with various combinations
of terms and fields to obtain as many relevant documents
as possible.
- In constructing your query (the terms and information
the computer will use to find results for you), think
about where a term is likely to turn up in the most
relevant document imaginable: in the title, body of
the full text, as a part of a subject heading, and so
on.
- Always keep a notepad
and pencil nearby so that you can jot down terms that
you can use to modify your query or your search strategy.
- If you continue to be stymied in your attempts to obtain
good results, email the librarian at coastlinelibrary@yahoo.com;
you will receive a response as soon as possible. If you
need an answer immediately, most public
libraries will respond to requests for assistance by
phone during normal business hours.
Go
to the Subscription Databases page.
| BACK | TOP | |
|
|
