DATABASE SEARCHING. Instructional guide

Transcription

1 University f KwaZulu-Natal Library, Pietermaritzburg DATABASE SEARCHING Instructinal guide Databases cntain references t jurnal articles, chapters in bks and in sme cases, theses and dissertatins. Sme databases als include the full text f the articles and ther items. The purpse f this guide is t list and explain sme f the mst cmmn search features and t illustrate them with selected examples. Details f hw the features can be used in each database can be btained frm the help screens that are prvided by the database. This guide refers t searching all electrnic material available in databases. Cntents f this guide Preparing t search 2 Analysing the tpic 2 Identifying keywrds and synnyms 2 Selecting suitable databases 2 Searching 3 Types f searches 3 Field searching 3 Brwsing the index r indexes 3 Limiting results 4 Search peratrs 4 Blean peratrs 4 Using brackets 4 Adjacency r prximity peratrs 5 Plurals 5 Truncatin 5 Wildcards 5 Search results 6 Selecting a level f display that gives mre infrmatin 6 Marking (tagging) recrds t print, save r 6 Lateral (sideways) searching frm specified elements in a recrd 6

2 PREPARING TO SEARCH Analysing the tpic It is imprtant t scrutinise a tpic befre ne starts searching fr infrmatin. A tpic can usually be brken dwn int tw r mre sub-tpics r cncepts. One s search may lcate articles that deal with all the cncepts tgether. If nt, ne may have t lk fr articles n the separate cncepts r rethink the keywrds r terms ne selected. Example: Under what circumstances are lng-distance air travellers mst likely t develp deep vein thrmbsis? The tw cncepts that this tpic can be brken dwn int are: air travellers and deep vein thrmbsis. Identify the sub-tpics r cncepts in yur tpic. Identifying keywrds and synnyms Keywrds are wrds that cncisely and accurately describe a tpic. Fr every keywrd r key term, there may be ne r mre synnyms. Using the tpic abve as an example: Example: Synnyms fr air travel include: flight r aerplane r airplane r airline r aircraft and passengers - there may be mre! Synnyms fr deep vein thrmbsis include: bld clts r bld cltting r thrmbphlebitis - there may be mre! Wrds such as - are, t, nt, away, a, the, and, f - are usually ignred in searches and fr this reasn are called stpwrds. Identify keywrds r key terms fr yur search List all pssible synnyms fr yur keywrds r terms List any wrds r terms that yu want excluded frm yur search Be prepared t add keywrds t these lists r t change them as yu search! Selecting suitable databases Databases are either discipline specific r multidisciplinary. It is imprtant fr yu t establish which databases best suit yur field f study. It is gd t search in mre than ne database. Select suitable databases t search. 2

3 SEARCHING What fllws is an explanatry list f search features t lk fr in a database if ne wants t d mre than a basic search. Types f searches Mst databases prvide several types f searches, fr example: Basic, Advanced r Expert. Databases usually default t ne type but include ther ptins. Example: In bth EBSCOhst and ScienceDirect databases, the default search type is a Basic search, but it is pssible t select an Advanced search. Lk at the types f searches available in a database yu are searching and select what will be mst useful. Field searching Mst databases enable searchers t chse ne r mre fields (such as authr, title, subject r keywrd) in which t cnduct a search. The number f fields frm which ne may select, ften depends n the type f search that is being cnducted. Example: In the SA epublicatins database in SABINET, a Basic search will allw ne t chse whether t search in the Article title OR Jurnal title OR Authr OR Abstract field OR in all f them tgether. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, an Advanced search allws ne t select frm varius fields in which t search, frm a drp dwn menu. Decide whether yu want t limit yur search t ne r mre fields r t search acrss all f them. Brwsing the index r indexes It is pssible t brwse the list f all wrds (excluding stpwrds) that have been used in the different fields in many databases. The list f wrds usually includes the number f ccurrences in each field r in the database. This is useful because it includes variant and incrrect spellings which searchers might nt have knwn abut. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, it is pssible t brwse Subjects (and ther less useful fields) by clicking n Subject Terms search and fllwing the instructins. Decide whether brwsing in the index r indexes will be useful r nt. 3

4 Limiting results In mst databases ne can apply varius limits t a search befre ne searches, nce ne has the search results, r at bth stages f the search. Example: In the CAB Direct database, ne can specify that articles nly be in English and als limit the search by year f publicatin. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, ne can limit the search t full text nly, t peer-reviewed jurnals nly, t a particular publicatin, by dcument type, by date and in ther ways befre cnducting the search. Find ut what limits are pssible and whether they wuld be useful t yu. Search peratrs Blean peratrs can be used t cmbine keywrds r terms AND finds recrds that include BOTH wrds Example: rivers AND salinity nly finds recrds that include bth wrds OR finds recrds that include EITHER f the wrds (r bth wrds) Example: fruit OR vegetables finds recrds that include either wrd (r bth wrds) NOT excludes recrds frm the search Example: fruit NOT apples finds recrds that include fruit but exclude apples These searches can be illustrated with Venn diagrams. Left t right: Venn diagrams illustrating use f AND, OR, NOT. Shaded areas represent recrds fund. Using brackets In mst databases, the Advanced search allws ne t make use f Blean peratrs. Hwever, if this feature is nt available, it may be necessary t use brackets t enclse different elements in a search statement. Example: (cnservatin OR preservatin) AND (bks OR jurnals) Decide hw t use Blean peratrs t cmbine yur keywrds r terms remembering that OR is useful t ensure that yur search includes all synnyms; AND is useful fr cmbining cncepts; yu may have t use brackets. 4

5 Adjacency r prximity peratrs are used t find wrds next t, r near ther wrds. Sme databases recgnise phrases (such as capital punishment ), but in thers it is necessary t indicate that the wrds shuld be next t each ther. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, nline w1 searching will find recrds that include bth wrds in that rder but with ne ther wrd in between, such as nline bibligraphical searching. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, nline n2 searching finds recrds that include bth wrds in any rder with n mre than tw wrds between them, such as nline bibligraphic database searching, searching bibligraphic databases nline. Phrase searching is a way t retrieve recrds cntaining specific phrases. T search fr a specific phrase, sme databases require qutatin marks arund the phrase. A phrase search will then lcate nly recrds cntaining the wrds in the particular rder in which they appear. Example: In SABINET databases, using will ensure that mre than ne wrd is treated as a phrase. Thus, attentin deficit disrder will find recrds with these wrds next t each ther. Decide whether t use prximity peratrs in yur search. Plurals can be searched fr cncurrently with a singular frm in sme databases, by using a specific symbl. Hwever, it is wrth remembering that sme search sftware will autmatically find the plural frm f a wrd if the singular frm is requested. Example: In SABINET databases, the plural symbl is a +. Thus, schl+ will find recrds that cntain schl r schls. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, a request fr schl will find schl r schls. Truncatin allws ne t find wrds that begin with a certain cmbinatin f letters. A truncatin symbl is placed after the cmbinatin f letters. Example: In SABINET databases, the truncatin symbl is a?. Thus, child? will find recrds with any wrd that starts with the letters child, such as child, children, childhd r childlike. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, the truncatin symbl is a *. Wildcards are symbls that are used t find varius frms r spellings f a wrd. Example: In SABINET databases, the wildcard symbl is a #. Thus, wm#n will find recrds that cntain wman r wmen. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, the wildcard symbl is a?. Decide hw t use plural, truncatin and/r wildcard symbls t imprve yur search. 5

6 SEARCH RESULTS Once ne has a set f search results, mst databases allw ne, r mre f the ptins listed belw. Selecting a level f display that gives mre infrmatin Mst databases have a default display which is brief but allw at least ne ther mre detailed frmat t be selected. Example: In SABINET and EBSCOhst databases, the default display is brief but the full recrd can be displayed by clicking n the title. Marking (tagging) recrds t print, save, r exprt Searchers can mark relevant recrds t print, save, r exprt t a bibligraphic management prgram (such as RefWrks r EndNte). Example: In SABINET and EBSCOhst databases, recrds may be printed, saved, ed r exprted. Lateral (sideways) searching frm specified elements in recrds One can select certain elements in a recrd t start a new search. Example: In EBSCOhst databases, authrs, subjects and ther elements are hyperlinks that can be fllwed. 6