2. Strategies for Finding Information

Basic Search — click a radio button to determine a searching strategy.

Simply enter terms — searching automatically includes the All-Smart Search
(a rules-based search).

Boolean Search — enter a constructed search string, for example:
(hudson river and contamination) and (feature article in dt).
Look in the online Help for other examples.

Advanced Search — this method is best for focusing the search results. Enter your query and select from several dropdowns and other limiters to the search, click Start.

Searching in a Specific Field — your search results are likely to be more focused if you select a specific field from a dropdown box next to the term entry box.

Searching in All-Smart Search — this strategy is a rules-based search based on Wilson’s rich indexing metadata. Results are displayed according to relevancy –ranking.

Searching in Keyword — this strategy locates terms only in bibliographic citation fields and abstracts. The full text of articles is not searched, avoiding irrelevant hits.

Browse — a helpful series of alphabetical lists (fields in the dropdown box) that help find specific records. For example, Browse can help locate a journal’s name when its spelling is in question.

Thesaurus — perhaps the best way to find suggested subject headings. It presents both Broader and Related terms, plus Used for: terms. Click on the highlighted words retrieved to start a system search. By clicking on a blue term, the user stays within the Thesaurus and can view other possible subjects.

Search History — the results screen reports searches as Active Searches during the search session, with each search displayed in literal query syntax. The report includes the number of records found and the date that the search was last run. Searches can be combined and queried again as Boolean searches. You can also eliminate a search entirely. Create your ID# and you can save a search for future reference and updating.

Searching Multiple Databases — you can select and search more than one database at a time. When doing so, you should keep the following in mind:

1. The databases may not have all fields in common.

2. If you limit your search to specific fields in Advanced Search or in Browse modes, you will only retrieve records from those databases that contain the field.

3. Each database has its own set of limiters.