User Guide. Version 1.5 Copyright 2006 by Serials Solutions, All Rights Reserved.

Transcription

1 User Guide Version 1.5 Copyright 2006 by Serials Solutions, All Rights Reserved.

2 Central Search User Guide Table of Contents Welcome to Central Search... 3 Starting Your Search... 4 Basic Search & Advanced Search... 4 Searching by Subject or Database... 5 Selecting Resources... 5 Advanced Search Queries... 6 Searching... 7 Dynamic Resource Display... 7 Central Search Results... 9 Results Clustering Results Header Search Summary Export Records Navigation and Get More Results Abstract Display De-duplicated Results Integration of OpenURL Link Resolvers Central Search Help Troubleshooting Customizations Contact Us! Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 2 of 18

3 Welcome to Central Search Serials Solutions Central Search is a federated search engine with a user interface that provides easy-to-use search tools and intuitive results pages, accessible to researchers of any level. Our goal with the Central Search User Guide is to help you become more comfortable with this powerful tool as you get to know its key features. This guide highlights the main areas that users will interact with most: resource selection, query entry, status indicators, citation display, sorting and filtering options, and export tools. These features are covered in depth: Easy-to-Use Basic Search Intuitive, simple search designed for users familiar with popular search engines Powerful Advanced Search Advanced search tool with the ability to build Boolean queries and search specific metadata fields like author, title, and abstract Includes the Year Search Limiter, a feature that allows users to narrow their searches by year Dynamic Resource Display Powerful display that gives users live updates of search results from all resources Includes error messages to inform users if a search fails or is unsupported Results Clustering Clustering tool that sorts your search results into easily-browsed categories Robust Results Handling Results with extensive sorting capability, direct linking to available full-text content, support for OpenURL linking, and more Includes Results Filtering options, which let users limit their search results to Full text content Export Results Records can be exported in HTML or plain text, and then saved and printed for further research Central Search is fully customizable, so librarians also have the choice to brand the user interface with library-specific information. The full range of customization options is detailed in the Central Search Customization Form. Last updated: 01/03/2007 Page 3 of 18

4 Starting Your Search When users are presented with the first page of Central Search, the first step is up to them. They can start with any of the following options to jump into the search: Choose a Basic or Advanced Search Choose to search by subject or by database Select which resources to search Enter a search query Basic Search & Advanced Search Users have the choice of starting with a Basic Search or an Advanced Search. In both of these search types, the following Boolean operators are supported: and, or, not (with and not handled as a synonym for not). Phrase searching is also supported. Both searches also provide a list of databases below the search box. Here users can select individual databases to search, or they can check the Select All box to search the entire collection. The differences between the Basic and Advanced Search are highlighted below. Basic Search Page The Basic Search Page includes a simple search box for users to begin their search query. Advanced Search Page The Advanced Search Page includes four search boxes to create a custom search query. The search types available are detailed in the next pages. The Year Search Limiter box gives users the added option to narrow their searches by year. In this field they can enter any year from 1400 to the upcoming year, in the format of yyyy. Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 4 of 18

5 Searching by Subject or Database Both the Basic and Advanced Search include the option to search by subject or by database. Clicking on the Search by subject hyperlink will show users a list of subjects to choose from, and clicking on Search by database will bring up a list of databases. Libraries can select the default search page to encourage their users to start searching by database or by subject. Selecting Resources While users have the option to select individual databases to search, libraries can also create a subject hierarchy of resources. Users will then be able to easily select the resources best matching their research needs. Checking the subject heading box(es) will search all of the assigned resources. Users can enter their search query and hit the Search button. The relevance of the results should be increased by searching specific subjectresources. Clicking on the subject category name will result in the next level of subject headings or a list of the databases in the subject heading. Databases can be assigned to multiple subject headings, and an unlimited hierarchy is supported. Last updated: 01/03/2007 Page 5 of 18

6 Advanced Search Queries Title searches the title field Author searches the author field Full Text searches the full-text for the search term(s) Keyword performs keyword search Subject searches the subject field Abstract searches the abstract field ISBN matches exact ISBN ISSN matches exact ISSN Any miscellaneous Note: Any is understood differently from keyword by some vendors, but not all. Many vendors understand any as synonymous with keyword. Year limits search results to a particular year Note: Each resource may not support the Year Search Limiter. Note: Each resource may not support all of these search types. In this case, an Unsupported Search Query message will appear see page 8 for more information. Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 6 of 18

7 Searching After users conduct a Basic or Advanced search, the Dynamic Resource Display will appear as the results are being collected. Dynamic Resource Display Users will see the Dynamic Resource Display box while their search is being performed. Real-time updates for search results appear next to each source. Users can see which sources have returned results first, and click to view results while other sources continue searching. Figure 1: The Dynamic Resource Display box shows the search status of each resource. For example, in Figure 1 above, a user has just begun a search. Within seconds, databases return results. The Dynamic Resource Display shows the search status for each resource. Those that are finished are indicated by hyperlinked numbers. The user can click on the results number to see the results, without stopping the remaining databases from continuing searches. Once the search is completed, the Central Search Results Page will appear (see Figure 2). Figure 2: Central Search Results Page Last updated: 01/03/2007 Page 7 of 18

8 Error Messages The Dynamic Resource Display also provides error messages for users, which are available for any failed or unsupported searches. When a search encounters a problem, a zero appears as a hyperlink. Users can click on this zero to see the error message. Note that if the search actually returns no results, users will see a zero that will not be a hyperlink. Possible error messages: Error Message Actual Error What you can do An authentication error Contact Support at Authentication Failed occurred. clients@serialssolutions.com to Source Failed to Respond The source did not respond with valid results. resolve the issue. Try again later. Source Timed Out Search Type(s) Not Supported Search Stopped The source returned a time-out message for the search. The search type(s) selected are not supported for this source. The user clicked on the Stop Searching link before the search completed. Click on Resume Searching to resend the search, or try again later. Refine the search and try again, or search the source in the native interface. Click on Resume Searching to complete the search. Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 8 of 18

9 Central Search Results Figure 3: Central Search Results Page On the first page of Central Search Results, users will find a list of 25 results. They will also see the below items (outlined in Figure 3), which we ll explore in detail in the following pages: 1. Refine Search, New Search: Return to your initial search query to make adjustments and try again, or start from a fresh search page for a new query. 2. Clustered Results Text: View your clustered results by topic, publication date, journals, and authors. 3. Clustered Result Links: Click on any of your clustered result links to reveal your search results that fall into that category. 4. Sorting Options: Sort your search results by date, title, author, or source. 5. Filter By: Filter your search results to show only those that link to full-text content. 6. Show or Hide Search Summary: Show or hide your Search Summary, which displays all of the individual databases that were searched, by clicking this link. 7. Navigation Links: Track which page of results you are currently on, and click any of the linked numbers to jump to a different results page. 8. Get More Results: Central Search results display 25 per page. Click on this link to retrieve more results. 9. Clear Filters: Remove any cluster-filtering you ve applied to your search results, and your results will appear in their original order. 10. Results: Your search results. Last updated: 01/03/2007 Page 9 of 18

10 Central Search Results Clustering Central Search Results Clustering sorts users search results into easily-browsed categories, which appear as links on the Central Search Results Page. The clustered results save users time in deciding which results will be most useful for their research, and help them refine a search by giving them new ideas for the search query. If your library does not yet have Results Clustering activated and you would like to turn it on, please use the Results Clustering Customization Form in the Central Search section of the Support Center. Users can view their clustered results by topic, publication date, journal, and author, using the tabs at the top of the clustered results box. Each link is followed by a number that indicates how many results fall into that category. Clicking on any of the cluster links reveals all of the users search results that fit into that category. In the image below, a user has clicked on a clustered results link that s relevant to her research. In this case, it s Education programs, a subtopic of English Language Learners. Topics that include subtopics are indicated with a plus symbol that users can select for more links. Her results, on the right, are now updated to show only those that fall into the category she s selected. A Clear filters link is now available above the results, in case she wants to remove any cluster-filtering she s applied. Clicking on this link sets the search results back to their original order. All search results include a Show in Clusters link. In the image below, the user clicks on this link under her result and sees exactly where that result fits into the clustered result topics, shown by highlighting. After seeing this, she can use the Remove highlighting link in the clustered results box. Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 10 of 18

11 Results Header The results page header includes sorting and filtering tools, and also displays their search query with the number of results returned. Sort and Filter Options At the top of the results page header, users will see their sorting and filtering options. With these links, they can sort their results by publication date, title, author, or source, and filter them to view only those that link to full-text content. Search Summary In the Results Header, a link is available to show or hide the Search Summary. Patrons can click on the link to display the summary, and their database results will be listed below it (see Figure 4). To hide it, they can click on the same link, and the summary will disappear (see Figure 5). Users also have the option to filter their results by source. By clicking on the results number next to a provider or database name in the Search Summary, they can view results from that source only. Additionally, users can click on the plus or minus symbol next to a resource name to show or hide its information. Figure 4: The Search Summary is shown, with the list of results below it. Figure 5: The Search Summary his hidden after clicking the Hide Summary link. At any time, if a user wishes to results from one particular database, she can click on the name in the Search Summary, and her results will be updated to show only those from that resource. Last updated: 01/03/2007 Page 11 of 18

12 Export Records Users have the option to export records of their results as HTML or text files. To choose which records to export, users must click on the Export Records hyperlink. Once users click on the Export Records link, another browser window opens with an inclusive list of the search results. Users can then select the records they want to export as HTML or text files. The Export Records box allows users to choose between the two record formats and export the records. Example of HTML formatted export: *Recommended for Saving and ing Example of Plain text export: 1. Accomplishments in bioastronautics research aboard International Space Station Uri, John J;Haven, Cynthia P.Acta Astronautica 2005.Vol.56,Iss.9-12;p *Recommended for Printing Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 12 of 18

13 Navigation and Get More Results The Central Search results are displayed 25 citations to a page. To navigate to the next page of results, users can either click on the page numbers, or use the chevron (< and >) links to access the next set of ten pages (See Figure 5). Users have the option to click the Get More Results hyperlink (See Figure 6). This option will search for more results based on the user s search. The Get More Results hyperlink will also appear on the first Results Page only if the search resulted in less than 26 articles and the vendor did not return all of the matching results. Keep in mind that vendors have varying limits on the number of results they can return for each search query. A search may find 1000 results in a database, and maybe only the first 50 are returned to display in the Central Search Results Page. Users must click on the Get More Results link to receive the next batch of results not yet returned by the vendor. Figure 6: Navigation links and Get More Results are displayed just below the header. Last updated: 01/03/2007 Page 13 of 18

14 Abstract Display Some search results are returned with an abstract, which summarizes the content of the text. When this option is available, users will see a link to show or hide the abstract. They can click the link to view the abstract for a better idea of what the full citation will cover. Once the abstract pops up, users can click on the same link to hide the summary again. Note: Only some vendors currently return abstracts, and vendors do not return abstracts for every result. Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 14 of 18

15 De-duplicated Results When a search finds duplicate results, only one record will be shown with a link to the other records. When users click on the Duplicate Records link, they will see all of the duplicate results listed. The current de-duplication logic compares all of these fields in the title results: date, article title, ISSN, volume, issue, and publication title. If any of these metadata items are different, the record is not marked as a duplicate and will be displayed. If there are duplicate results, our logic is constructed to show the result with a hyperlinked title. If there is not a result with a hyperlinked title, our logic will choose the result with an Article Linker (or other link resolver) URL. Lacking both, the result displayed is randomly selected. Last updated: 01/03/2007 Page 15 of 18

16 Integration of OpenURL Link Resolvers Article Linker clients are encouraged to integrate the OpenURL link resolver with the Central Search user interface. Libraries can include Article Linker with a text or image link. Example of Article Linker as an image link If your library does not have Article Linker, Journal Linker is included in your purchase. Journal Linker is an OpenURL link resolver that does not create article-level links, but instead looks up the journal in your library s E-Journal Portal. You can choose whether to include Journal Linker with a text or image link as well. Article Linker or Journal Linker will only appear on the results that have enough metadata to fulfill the OpenURL requirements: (Title OR ISSN) AND Volume AND Issue. It will not appear on every result. Note: Other OpenURL link resolvers can also be integrated with Central Search. Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 16 of 18

17 Central Search Help Troubleshooting The best way to help us troubleshoot an issue is to send us the complete URL of the Central Search results screen (as shown in Figure 7). Please copy and paste the URL into the . The URL will provide us with the necessary information we need to troubleshoot your issue. Screenshots are not necessary, but may be helpful. Figure 7: A URL from a Central Search Results Page In addition to the URL, please send the following information: What were the expected results? Did you receive an error message from Serials Solutions or a content provider? If so, what was the message, and which site was it from? If your library uses a proxy server, and if it s possible, please provide us with a temporary test ID and password to your proxy server so that we can replicate the results you are reporting. Last updated: 01/03/2007 Page 17 of 18

18 Customizations Central Search offers a lot of room for your customizations. For details on personalizing your Central Search features, please visit the Support Center, and download a copy of the Central Search Customization Form. Contact Us! Please visit the Support Center to find additional Central Search help, including FAQs and more. If you have any questions that were not answered in this guide, please don t hesitate to contact us at: clients@serialssolutions.com or SERIALS ( ), ext. 4. Thank you! Copyright 2006 by Serials Solutions, All Rights Reserved. Central Search User Guide 1.5 Page 18 of 18