Database tips

Definitions

 Truncation: A symbol at the end of a word to retrieve all variations. For example diet$ searches for diet, diets, dietary and dietition. Each database uses its own truncation symbol. Some databases automatically truncate.

 Proximity searching: Allows you to specify where your search terms will appear in relation to each other. The closer your search terms appear to each other, the closer the relationship of those terms.

For example pain w/10 morphine will search for the words pain and morphine within "10" words of each other. This command varies with each database.

When determing the value of the number consider:

  • Use w/3 to find terms in the same phrase
  • Use w/10 to find terms in the same sentence
  • Use w/50 to find terms in the same paragraph

 Email alerts: Set up email alerts to notify you when new material is added to a database which matches your profile.

 EndNote: EndNote is a software program that allows you to organise references in an EndNote library and link these references to your Word document.

 Thesaurus: A thesaurus provides a list of prefered words and/or phrases which you can use to improve your search and retrieve more relevant results. The thesaurus lists spelling variations, synonyms, broader, narrower and related terms. The thesaurus can also be called a subject headings or controlled vocabulary list.

 ACM Digital Library

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "prehistoric art" 3 users
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Ask a question

ADT - Australian Digital Theses

Truncation - auto-stemming Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "carbon dioxide" Ask a question

Agricola

Truncation - ? Ask a question
Phrase search - "manure management" -
EndNote filter available from the web site -

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Truncation - automatic Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "diffusion feedback" Email alerts
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Ask a question
EndNote - direct export available -

Annual Reviews

Truncation - * , auto-stemming Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "gene target" Email alerts
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Re-run saved searches
EndNote - direct export available Ask a question

AustEdOnline

Truncation - * Ask a question
Phrase search - automatic -
Proximity search - e.g. mathematics w/5 teaching -
Unable to mark records -

AustLII

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - automatic Ask a question

 AustLit

Truncation - * Preferred browser - IE 4, Netscape 5 and above
Phrase search - automatic 1 user
Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT - must be capitalised Email alerts
- Ask a question

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Phrase search - "finance sector" Fulltext
Help on ABS website  
Citing ABS sources Ask a question

Australian Standards

See SAI Global

Australian Medicines Handbook

Autostemming, forward and backward- steroid finds steroids and corticosteroid Fulltext
Phrase search automatic  
Does not support Boolean searching Ask a question

Biomed Central

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "red blood cell", or select "exact phrase" from the drop down menu Registration required - free
- Re-run saved searches
- Email alerts
- Ask a question

 BMJ Best Practice

Truncation - * RSS and email alerts
Phrase search - e.g. "myocardial infarction" -
Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT - must be capitalised -
Proximity search - e.g. "breast tumour"~5 Ask a question

 British Education Index

Truncation - $ Ask a question
Phrase search - e.g. "lifelong learning" -
Proximity search - e.g. teacher near5 shortage -

 Business Monitor Online

- Email alerts
- Ask a question

 Business Who's Who of Australia

Truncation - * Password required
Phrase search - automatic 1 user
- Ask a question

 Cambridge Journals Online

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "gene target" Email alerts
Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT - must be capitalised Re-run saved searches
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Ask a question

 CCH

Truncation - * Preferred browser - IE
Phrase search - "unfair dismissal" Only "Active Subscriptions" fulltext
Click "Print Mode" > tag the document to print > click "Print to PDF" Ask a question
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher  -

Searching

The opening screen displays all libraries. Only libraries listed under "Active Subscriptions" can be searched. Each library can contain a number of books. Searching can be across the entire library or within one book.

  • Click on the name of a library, then specific book if required > type in search terms > click Go
  • The number of times your search term appears is displayed in red. Click on a book title to view the Table of Contents > click on the plus sign to expand the subheadings > click on a heading at any time to view the text

 Cengage (GaleInfoTrac)

 Computer Database, Expanded Academic ASAP, Health Reference Centre

Truncation - * Partial fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "information technology" Computer database - 10 users
Health Reference - 10 users
Times Digital Archive - 1 user
Articles in PDF format must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Ask a question
To reformat a document for printing, select "Print" from the left hand side bar -
EndNote filter and save format -
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher -

Search using subject headings
Click on Subject Guide to browse / identify subject headings and subheadings

Chemical Abstracts / SciFinder Scholar

Enter search query as a sentence or phrase. Understands regular English phrasing Available as web browser software or using client software
Fulltext links are not necessarily to titles subscribed to by the University 4 users - two for each platform
EndNote - save as Tagged Format [*.txt ], use the SciFinder [CAS] filter Ask a question
Tutorials, product tours etc. provded by publisher Need the correct java for the web version. -

 CIAO

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - select from the drop down menu Ask a question

 Cochrane databases (Ovid)

Truncation - $ Partial fulltext
Phrase search - automatic Re-run saved searches
Proximity search - e.g. animal adj5 behaviour Email alerts
EndNote filter and save format 3 users
- Ask a question

 Cochrane Library (Wiley)

Truncation - * Partial fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "mental health treatment" Re-run saved searches
Proximity search - e.g. antidepressant NEAR/10 narcolepsy Ask a question
EndNote filter and save format -

 CRCnetBASE

CHEMnetBASE, ENVIROnetBASE,

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - automatic Ask a question
Proximity search - e.g. water w/4 filter -
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher - CHEMnetBASE -

 CSA

(Cambridge Scientific Abstracts)

Aluminum Industry Abstracts, Ceramic Abstracts, Copper Data Centre, Corrosion Abstracts, Engineered Material, Materials Business File, Materials Research, Metadex, MLA International Bibliography, Nursing and Health Sciences, Psychology, Sociological Abstracts, Weldasearch, World Ceramics Abstracts

Truncation - * Partial fulltext
Phrase search - "water pollution" Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. carbon within 3 fiber Re-run saved searches
EndNote filter and save format Ask a question
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher - 

 CSIRO

Truncation - * Partial fulltext
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Ask a question

 Current Index to Statistics

Truncation - % Ask a question
Phrase search - automatic -
EndNote - select "Refer" output format, save the results from your browser as a .txt file, use the EndNote Import filter
-

 Duke University Press Journals Online

Truncation - * Also uses automatic stemming Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "signal transduction" Email alerts
Possible to download into Endnote Ask a question

 EBSCO

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "hedge funds" Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. private N3 equity Ask a question
EndNote - direct export available -
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher -

 Ed/ITLid Digital Library

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "distance learning" Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. math <SENTENCE> science, math <PARAGRAPH> science Ask a question
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed -
EndNote - direct export available -

 Education-line

Truncation - $ Ask a question
Phrase search - e.g. "higher education" -
Proximity search - e.g. learning near6 organisation -

 Emerald

Truncation - * or check the truncation box Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "market research" or check the phrase box Email alerts
Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT - must be capitalised Re-run saved searches
EndNote filter and save format Ask a question

Search using subject headings
Find a relevant article. Click on a term within the Keyword field

 Engineering Village

Truncation - * comput* returns computer, computers, computerize, computerization
plus automatic stemming - management returns manage, managed, manager, managers, managing, management
 
Phrase search - "near field scanning"  
Proximity search - e.g. water near5 pollution  
EndNote filter and save format Ask a question
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher - 

 ERIC Education Resources Information Center

Truncation - * Ask a question
Phrase search - e.g. "higher education" -

 eTG Complete

Truncation - Does not support truncation Ask a question
Does not support phrase searching -
Boolean searching- Uses AND by default supports OR  

Factiva

Truncation - * Preferred browser - IE
Phrase search - automatic Fulltext
Proximity search - e.g. water near5 pollution 6 users
EndNote filter and save format Ask a question
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher (This is on the Proquest site) -

Searching

  • Scanning daily news / publications
    Select News Pages from the green toolbar > select a country or subject area from the menu > select a date and section from the menu OR
    Select Search from the green toolbar > click on Source > type in source name in the Find a Source box > click on the triangle to add to the Free Text box > select a date range from the Date menu > click Run Search
  • Searching a specific newspaper or journal
    Select Search from the green toolbar > click on Source > type in the name of the publication > click once on the publication title > type search terms in the Free Text box > select from the available limiting options e.g. date, full article > click Run Search
  • Searching across a range of publications
    Select Search from the green toolbar > click on Source > Select a source category from the menu > click on the plus sign to expand the list of publications > click ONCE on a publication or publication category at any time to select it as a source to search > type search terms in the Free Text box > select from the available limiting options e.g. date, full article > click Run Search
  • Image searching
    DO NOT select a source. Type in your search terms in the Free Text box > select the Pictures tab

Displaying results

  • Click Frames on the right side of the screen to display search results in the left frame and selected article in the right frame

 FIRSTConsult

Truncation- None (not supported) Fulltext
Natural language, no Boolean operators, auto synonym search Ask a question

FirstSearch

Restricted to academic staff and postgraduate students. Article First, Eco, World Cat

Truncation - * Password required
Phrase search - e.g. "higher education" Partial fulltext
Proximity search - e.g. water n5 pollution Email alerts
EndNote filter and save format Re-run saved searches
- Ask a question

 

 Grove

Grove Art, Grove Music

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "gold medal"

Grove Art - 3 users

Grove Music - 3 users

~ preceeding a search term matches words that sound alike - e.g. ~mikelanjelo will find Michelangelo Ask a question

 Hein

- Preferred browser - IE
- Fulltext
- Ask a question
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher - and YouTube presentation site  - 

 HighWire Press

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "human disease" , or select the phrase radio button Email alerts
- Ask a question

 IEEE Xplore

Truncation - *, auto-stemming Fulltext
Phrase search - automatic 15 users
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Email alerts
EndNote - direct import available. Each article must be imported seperately. Ask a question
Tutorials product tours etc. provided by publisher - 

Search using subject headings
Find a relevant article. Click on a term within the Index Terms field

 Informaworld

Truncation - * Can also check "stemming" box in advanced search Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "gene therapy" Email alerts
- Ask a question
Tutorials product tours etc. provided by publisher - 

 

 INFORMIT

A+ Education, Account, AGIS plus, AHB, APAFT, ATSIhealth, DELTAA, , ENDANGER, ENGINE, EVA, Health Collection,  Humanities and Social Sciences Collection, MAIS,   

Truncation - * Partial fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "information technology" Unlimited users
Proximity search - e.g. water %5 pollution Re-run saved searches
EndNote filter and save format Ask a question
Tutorials product tours etc. provided by publisher -

Targeting databases for your topic
Select Databases from the top of any Informit database screen > select Find Databases > enter a keyword > Search
Select one or more databases that provide the most matching records > click Start Searching

Search multiple databases
Select Databases from the top of any Informit database screen > select one or more databases > click Start Searching

Search using subject headings
Consult each database thesaurus as subject headings may vary. Do not use subject searches when searching across multiple databases.
Select Thesaurus tab at the top of the screen > type in a term > click Search Thesaurus OR Click a letter in the Browse Subject Terms box

Simulated search

 Ingenta Connect 

Truncation - * Partial fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "feminist theory" Email alerts
- Re-run saved searches
- Ask a question

 JCR (Journal Citation Reports)

Download PDF guide for JCR

 JSTOR

Truncation - ?. Use 3 question marks to replace up to 7 characters e.g. bird??? Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "feminist theory" Ask a question
Proximity search - e.g. "marine pollution"~10 -
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed -
EndNote filter and save format -
Tutorials product tours etc. provided by publisher  -

 LawLex

Truncation - *  
Phrase search - e.g. "beyond reasonable doubt" Fulltext
Unable to mark fulltext for email. Each article must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Email alerts - legislation
Printing and saving varies between jurisdictions Ask a question

Simulated searches:

 Legal Online

Truncation - * Recommended browser - IE
Phrase search - e.g. "beyond reasonable doubt" Fulltext
Proximity search - e.g. "resource acquisition"@5 Ask a question
Unable to email search results -

Simulated searches:

 Lexis.com

Truncation - ! Preferred browser - IE
Phrase search - automatic Fulltext

Proximity search - e.g.

  • murder w/5 provocation
  • internet w/p copyright (looks for the words in the same paragraph)
  • atleast10(prenuptial agreements) Note: Must have no spaces (looks for documents in which the terms appear 10 times)
Email alerts
Click on Focus to modify a search Ask a question

Selecting a Source
To search Lexis a "Source" must be identified first.
To select a source for:

  • American journal articles
    Select Legal>Secondary Legal>Law Reviews & Journals > US Law Reviews and Journals, Combined
  • Law resources by country e.g. Australia
    Select Legal>Legal (excluding U.S.)>Australia

Searching by segments
Lexis allows you to restrict your search to "segments" or particular parts of a document. Common segments in a case include name, judge, court and headnotes. Common segments in a journal article include author, publication and title.

  • To restrict your search to a segment, use the "Restrict by Segment" drop down menu > type in your search term > click Add > Search
  • Alternatively type in the name of the segment followed by your search term in brackets - e.g name(mabo), author(frazer)

 LexisNexis AU

Truncation - ! Recommended browser - IE
Phrase search - automatic Fulltext

Proximity search - e.g.

  • murder w/5 provocation
  • internet w/p copyright (looks for the words in the same paragraph)
  • atleast10(prenuptial agreements) Note: Must have no spaces (looks for documents in which the terms appear 10 times)
Ask a question

LexisNexis AU offers a range of search options. Each is designed to search a particular type of content.

Common Tasks search
Select a task from the Common Tasks menu > type in a document name > click Go

Quick Sources search
Click on an individual source > type in your search terms > click Search

Tab search
Select from the red tabs > type in your search terms > click Search

 Libraries Australia

Truncation - * -
Phrase search - select "as a phrase" from the menu 2 users
- Ask a question

 McGraw-Hill

Access Medicine, Access Pharmacy, Harrison's Online

Truncation - not supported suggest enable autoselect Fulltext
Phrase search - automatic Ask a question
Search engine finds similar terms that match the concept -

 MathSciNet

Truncation - * -
Phrase search - e.g. "invertible matrix" Ask a question
Proximity search - e.g. module adj3 differential -

 MDConsult

Truncation - * auto synonyms search Fulltext
Phrase search- Use quotation marks (“) to locate exact phrase Ask a question

  MIMs Online

Unable to mark records. Each records must be printed separately Fulltext
- Email alerts
- Ask a question

 NBER Working Papers

- Email alerts
- Ask a question

 New York Review of Books

Does not support truncation Fulltext
Does not support phrase searching Ask a question

 NSW Legislation

Truncation - ? Fulltext
Phrase search - automatic Ask a question
Proximity search - e.g. right %3 appeal -

 Onesource Global Business Browser

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - automatic Ask a question
Tutorials product tours etc. provided by publisher: Login to OneSource then from the Support menu, select Online tutorials  

 OVID

ACP Journal, Biological Abstracts, Biosis Previews, Cinahl, EBM Reviews, Econlit, ERIC, Georef, Inspec, LWW 100, Medline, Philosophers Index, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, Wilsons Art Index

Truncation - $ Partial fulltext
Phrase search - automatic Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. animal adj5 behaviour Re-run saved searches
EndNote filter and save format Individual databases have specific limits
- Ask a question
Tutorials product tours etc. provided by publisher -

Select Change Database to re-run your search terms in another OVID database

Search using subject headings
Type in your search term. Click the Map Term to Subject Heading box
Focus will retrieve documents in which the subject heading is the main focus
Explode will retrieve records containing your term and more specific terms

 Oxford Journals

Truncation - *, auto-stemming Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "market research" or check the phrase box Ask a question
Articles in PDF format must be saved to the desktop, then emailed -
Endnote - direct export available -
Tutorials product tours etc. provided by publisher -

 Physical Review Online Archive

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "chaos theory" Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. optical <NEAR/3> systems Ask a question
EndNote - direct export available -

 Popline

Truncation - * Ask a question

 Project Muse

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "paradise lost" Ask a question
Articles in PDF format must be saved to the desktop, then emailed -
EndNote filter and save format -

 Proquest Central

ABI/Inform Global, Dissertation Abstracts, Proquest ANZ Newsstand, Proquest Research Library

Truncation - * Partial fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "management strategy" Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. marine w/5 pollution, select "WITHIN 3" from the menu Ask a question
EndNote filter and save format -
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher  (This includes Factiva) -

Search using subject headings
Click on Browse Topics > click Thesaurus > type in your term > click Find Term

Limiting by article type
Click on More Search Options > from the Document Type menu select an article type
To exclude a publication type select AND NOT from the menu next to Document Type.This is useful to exclude Book Reviews.

 PubMed

Truncation - * Partial fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "health planning" Email alerts
EndNote filter and save format Re-run saved searches
Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT - must be capitalised Ask a question

To limit to fulltext type in your search adding AND free full text [sb] - e.g. insulin AND diabetes AND free full text [sb]

 Royal Society of Chemistry

Truncation - *, auto stemming Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "fuel cell" Email alerts
Author search, use Boolean and between given and family name e.g. Alan and Jones Ask a question

 SAGE Journals Online

Truncation -* Fulltext
Phrase searching - automatic -
Endnote - direct export available Email alerts
- Ask a question

  

SAI Global

Phrase search - automatic Fulltext
- 2 users to access fulltext
Unlimited users to search the database
- StandardsWatch - Email alerts
- Ask a question

 ScienceDirect

Truncation -* Fulltext
Phrase search - "water pollution" Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. water w/5 pollution Re-run saved searches
Articles in PDF format must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Ask a question
EndNote filter and save format -
EndNote filter and save format -

 

 SourceOECD

Truncation - * or select truncated box in advanced search Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "economic development" or select exact phrase box in advanced search Email alerts
- Ask a question

 SpringerLink

Lecture notes in computer science

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "fuzzy logic", select 'Exact' phrase from the dropdown menu Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. human near geography Ask a question
Articles in PDF format must be saved to the desktop, then emailed -

 Ulrichs International

Truncation - * Ask a question

Is the journal Peer Reviewed?
Look for a Refereed icon on the Search Results page
Click on the journal title, check the Refereed field

Is the journal Academic / Scholarly?
Click on the journal title, check the Document Type field

Which database indexes the journal?
Click on the journal title, click on the Abstracting / Indexing tab

 Web of Knowledge

Current Contents Connect, ISI Proceedings, Web of Science (keyword search)

Truncation - * Email alerts
Phrase search - "gene target" Re-run saved searches
Proximity search - e.g. gene same target Ask a question
EndNote filter and save format -
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher -

Download PDF guide for Web of Science - Citation Index

 Westlaw

Truncation - ! Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "beyond reasonable doubt" Ask a question

Proximity search - e.g.

  • design /s defect (looks for the words in the same sentence)
  • hearsay /p utterance (looks for the words in the same paragraph)
  • provocation w/5 murder
-

 Wiley Interscience

Truncation - * Fulltext
Phrase search - e.g. "gene therapy" Email alerts
Proximity search - e.g. cancer near/5 prostate Re-run saved searches
Articles in PDF format must be saved to the desktop, then emailed Ask a question
Tutorials, product tours etc. provided by publisher -

 WorldCat

Truncation - ? Free site
Phrase search - automatic Ask a question

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Content by: Electronic Services Librarian

Last reviewed: 18 November, 2009

       

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Interruptions to UOW IT services (on & off campus)

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