Explora - Basic Search

Transcription

1 Explora - Basic Search From the Explora home screen, you can quickly search for the information you need to complete research and classroom assignments. To create a Basic Search: 1. Enter your search terms in the search box on the home screen. The Autocomplete feature will anticipate your search terms, so even if you misspell a term, relevant results will appear in the drop-down menu. 2. Click the Search button. The Result List displays. 3. Click on the title to view the article details screen, or click the full-text link to view the complete article. Hover your cursor over the preview icon to view article details, or click the folder 1

2 Notes: icon to save the article to your personal folder. The search field is displayed above the result list. Your search terms, limiters, and expanders are retained. To revise your search, you can apply the limiters under Refine Results. Click the Show More link to view all available limiters and expanders. If you click the Explora logo, you are returned to the Home Page with your search terms cleared and search parameters reset. If you click the Advanced Search link, you are taken to the Advanced Search Screen with your search terms carried forward. 2

3 Explora - Advanced Search You may conduct advanced searches in Explora using a single search box or multiple search boxes (guided search). Advanced Search - Single The single search field offers ease of use to expert researchers who have developed more extensive search strategies. To use Advanced Search with a Single Search Field: 1. Click the Advanced Search link below the search field. 2. Enter your search terms on the Advanced Search Screen. The Autocomplete feature will anticipate your search terms, so even if you misspell a term, relevant results will appear in the drop-down menu. Note: If you select your search term from the Autocomplete drop-down menu, Explora will run your search automatically. If you wish to choose among the additional Search Options first, DO NOT select your search term from the drop-down menu. If you do so in error, simply click the Advanced Search link to be brought back to the Advanced Search screen; your search terms will be retained. 3. Select from the available Search Options: Search modes Use specific search modes, such as Find all of my search terms, or SmartText Searching, or use search options that expand your search such as Apply related words. Limit your results Further refine your results by selecting Full Text or specifying Lexile Reading Level, Publication Date, or Number of Pages. 4. Click the Search button. The Result List displays. 5. Click on the title to view the article details screen, or click the full-text link to view the complete article. Hover your cursor over the preview 1

4 icon to view article details, or click the folder icon to save the article to your personal folder. Advanced Search - Guided Multiple search fields assist you in creating a more targeted search. To use Guided Search: 1. From the home page, click the Advanced Search link below the search box. 2. Enter your search terms in the first search box on the Advanced Search screen. The Autocomplete feature will anticipate your search terms, so even if you misspell a term, relevant results will appear in the drop-down menu. Note: If you select your search term from the Autocomplete drop-down menu, Explora will run your search automatically. If you wish to choose among the additional Search Options first, DO NOT select your search term from the drop-down menu. If you do so in error, simply click the Advanced Search link to be brought back to the Advanced Search screen; your search terms will be retained. 3. Choose the search field from the optional Select a Field drop-down list. For example, you can search in only the Subject terms field (SU) of the citation. 4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the second and third search boxes. 5. Select a Boolean operator (AND, OR, NOT) to combine the two field entries. You can enter another Boolean operator, keyword, and search field in the third set of fields. 6. The Select a Field option allows you to narrow your results by telling the database to search for your terms within specific fields. 7. If you need additional rows, click the (+) link (if available). If enabled by your library administrator, up to 12 rows can be displayed. To delete a row, click the (-) link. 2

5 8. Select from the available Search Options: Search modes - Use specific search modes, such as "Find all of my search terms," or "SmartText Searching," or use search options that expand your search such as "Apply related words." Limit your results - Further refine your results by selecting Full Text or specifying Lexile Reading Level, Publication Date, or Number of Pages. 9. Click the Search button. The Result List displays. 10. Click on the title to view the article details screen, or click the full-text link to view the complete article. Hover your cursor over the preview icon to view article details, or click the folder Notes: icon to save the article to your personal folder. Search fields always display above the result list. Your search terms, limiters, and expanders are retained until you click New Search or the product logo. To revise your search, you can apply the limiters under Refine Results. Click the Show More link to view all available limiters and expanders. If you click the Explora logo, you are returned to the home page with your search terms cleared and search parameters reset. 3

6 Explora - Browsing by Category Finding a topic to research is easy with Explora. Explora gives you the option to browse topics by category right from the home page. The categories include: Arts and Literature Biography Business and Careers Current Events Geography and Culture Health History and Social Science Science and Math To browse by category: 1. Below the image carousel on the Explora home page is a list of eight categories. Each category contains three featured topics. Click on one of the featured topics OR click on the More link to view all topics in that category. 2. From within the selected category, you can browse the list of topics alphabetically. Click the letters of the alphabet to Jump to a list of topics beginning with the selected letter. When you're ready, click on the topic that interests you. 1

7 A Result List is displayed. 3. Click on the title to view the article details screen, or click the full-text link to view the complete article. Hover your cursor over the preview icon to view article details, or click the folder icon to save the article to your personal folder. Note: If you perform a keyword search while viewing an Explora Category, Explora searches the entire database your results are not limited to the Category selected. 2

8 Explora - Browsing the Image Carousel You can browse content in Explora using the image carousel that displays prominently below the search box. Updated on a weekly basis, these topics are timely, grade-appropriate, and relevant to your library's users. 1. From the home screen, navigate the image carousel topics by clicking the left or right arrows. 2. Click Learn More for a list of relevant search results. 1

9 Explora - Reading an Article When you click the title of an article, the best view selected by your library administrator is displayed. To view a different format, click on the Detailed Record, HTML Full Text, or PDF Full Text icons. Detailed Record When the Detailed Record is displayed, it may also include a summary or an abstract. If activated by your library administrator, the full text of the article may appear below the Detailed Record. The author and subject terms of the record can appear as links that let you perform a search of that particular field. When available, a Find Similar Results link will display on the citation. Click the link to perform a SmartText search for related articles. SmartText Searching will run the search using the citation's abstract and a new Result List will display. If no abstract is available, SmartText Searching will run the search on the article title. If SmartText Searching is not available in the database being searched, Find Similar Results searches the article's subject headings or descriptors. The source may display a link or journal logo that leads to a detailed view of the source or publication. Clicking on the journal logo links you to a detailed description of the journal. Clicking Back returns you to the full record of the article. The source may also include a table of contents link that lets you perform a search on the same issue of the source or publication. HTML Full Text View When the HTML full text view is displayed, you can also return to the Detailed Record, or any PDF or linked text by clicking on the available icons. The text is displayed formatted and ready for printing. A brief citation is always included at the end of the article. 1

10 From either the Detailed Record or Full Text views, you can refine your search and return to the Result List. When available, a Find Similar Results link will display on the Detailed Record and HTML Full Text views. Click the link to perform a SmartText search for related articles. SmartText Searching will run the search using the citation's abstract and a new Result List will display. If no abstract is available, SmartText Searching will run the search on the article title. If SmartText Searching is not available in the database being searched, Find Similar Results searches the article's subject headings or descriptors. PDF Full Text Viewer When PDF Full Text is displayed, it will be viewed in the PDF Full Text Viewer tool. See PDF Full Text Viewer help section for more information. Tools Menu When viewing an article, there are several tools available to you on the right-hand side of the screen. Add to folder - Add the article to the session folder or your personal My EBSCOhost folder. Print - Print the article. 2

11 - the article to yourself or multiple addresses. Save - Save the article to a destination on your computer. Cite - Retrieve citation information for the article in several different formats. Export - Export the article to your bibliographic management software. Create Note - Save a note on the article to your My EBSCOhost folder. Permalink - Copy and paste a persistent link to the article. Share - Share the article to one of many to social bookmarking sites such as dig, del.icio.us, Technorati, bloglines, etc. Google Classroom - Google Apps for Education users can share Explora content to Google Classroom Listen - Hear the HTML Full Text of an article read to you using Text-to-Speech. (If enabled by your administrator.) Translate - Translate the HTML Full Text of the article to one of many available languages. (If enabled by your administrator.) 3

12 Explora - Result List In Explora, search results can be Topic Overviews, citations, full text articles, document summaries or abstracts, and can include links to full text. The Result List Screen has two columns: Left - Refine Search Middle - Results Display You can hide or show the different areas by clicking the control arrows at the top of the left and right columns. Your library administrator decides whether the facets in the left column are displayed. Left - Refine Search The Left Column displays the Current Search, Limiters, and Facets Current Search - Click the toggle arrow to open the Current Search box. Current Search keeps track of your search terms, search options, and facets applied to your search. 1

13 Limit To Apply limiters right from the Result List by clicking a hyperlinked limiter or checkbox, such as Full Text or Peer Reviewed Journals. You can also use the Publication Date slider to refine your result list to include articles published within a specified date range. Refine your search even more by clicking the Show More link. Filters You can narrow your results by Source Type and Lexile Range right from the result list. Middle - Results Display Results Display The articles that were found are displayed in the center of the Result List Screen. You can also access the Result Sort List, Page Options, and Share drop-down menus from the Results column. The number of Search Results in your list is displayed at the top of the middle column. The article title link takes you to the citation information and/or the full text. Place your mouse over the Preview icon to view the Abstract. The HTML Full Text link takes you directly to the full text of the article. The PDF Full Text link takes you to a PDF version of the full text. The PDF will open in the Adobe Reader. Add to Folder To save an article to the Folder, click the Folder icon to the right of the article title or inside the Article Preview that you hover over with your mouse. Subjects Subject Terms that are assigned to each item are displayed in the result list. Result List Sort Click this link to select one of the following result list sorting options: Date Newest, Date Oldest, or Relevance. Page Options Click this link to view the page display options. Share Click this link to view alerting, linking and bookmarking options. Navigate through pages of your results using the hyperlinked page number and Next links at the bottom of the result list. Page Options Use this drop-down menu to customize how your result list page is displayed. Note: The setting currently being used is highlighted with a yellow box. To set your Page Options: 2

14 Result Format - Click the select a result list format. Results per page - Select the number of results per page you would like displayed. Page Layout - Select your desired column layout for the Result List. Share Menu To use the Share menu: Add to folder - Add all displayed articles to the folder or add the search to the folder as a persistent link to a search. Use Permalink - Highlight the link text and copy using your browser's copy function. You can immediately paste the link into a web site, document or . You can also store links to your EBSCOhost pages to social bookmarking sites such as dig, del.icio.us, Technorati, bloglines, etc. 3

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16 Explora - Topic Overview The Topic Overview is a feature in Explora that provides students with a starting point for research. Topic Overviews appear in the search results list for thousands of popular topics and include links to citable, authoritative summary articles. Topic Overview content comes from a variety of high quality sources, both proprietary and encyclopedic, including: Salem Press Encyclopædia Britannica American National Biography If a Topic Overview is available, it will appear at the top of the search results list. Please note that the Topic Overview feature does not alter your search results list in any way. Many searches include Related items listed at the bottom of the Topic Overview placard. These are other titles that are highly relevant to your search. Clicking the link takes you directly to that Research Starter record. To view the Topic Overview, click the title of the Topic Overview or the More link. The Topic Overview will display. 1

17 From here, you can read the full text of the article or listen to the article using the Text-to-Speech feature. In addition, you can click the icons under the Tools menu to print, , save, or cite the article. Depending on your search term, the overview article may contain lateral links embedded in the full text. Clicking on a lateral link will take you to the related Topic Overview record. Note: This FAQ is for end users. Library administrators wishing to enable Topic Overviews in Explora should refer to the following FAQ: Enabling the Explora interface in EBSCOadmin. 2

18 Scavenger Hunt Secondary Schools Welcome to Explora, EBSCO s research interface designed specifically for you! To familiarize you with Explora, we ve created this handy scavenger hunt. When you re done, you ll have lots of information to help you the next time you use Explora. Follow the instructions below and answer all of the questions. 1. Take a look at the Explora Home Page. It should look like the screen pictured below. Using your computer screen (not the picture!), describe 4 ways you could find information using Explora. a) b) c) d) 2. Locate the Image Carousel that spans across the screen. This carousel highlights topics in history or current events. You can navigate the carousel by clicking the left and right arrows. Which 5 topics are featured today? a) b) c) d) e) Explora Scavenger Hunt Secondary School Edition 1 Page ID: #7621 EBSCO Information Services Last update: September 2015

19 3. Locate the Search Box above the Image Carousel. Type in Albert Einstein. Click Search. a) How many search results do you get? b) What did you notice when you started to type in his name? 4. Note the Topic Overview that appears at the top of your result list. How might this information be helpful to you? 5. Locate the Limit To panel to the left of your screen. It should look like the image below. You can use this panel to help narrow your search results. This panel features several headings, including Publication Date, Source Types, and Lexile Range. (You can expand or collapse these headings by clicking on them.) The number in parentheses indicates how many results are available. Let s try filtering by Source Type. Place a check in the box next to Biographies. This will narrow your result list to include only biographies of Albert Einstein. How many results do you get? 6. Now, locate the Sort dropdown menu at the top of your result list. It looks like this: This is another tool you can use to organize your search results. Besides sorting by Relevance, what are your choices? 7. Choose Date Oldest. This will organize your results so that the oldest articles are listed first. Click the title of the first article listed and open the full record. Write down the following: a. Title of Article: b. Name of Author: c. Title of Source: d. Date of Publication: 8. Let s try another kind of search. Click on the Explora logo at the top left of your screen to return to the home page (remember, you can use this feature any time you want to start over). Below the image carousel, you ll find a number of subject categories. Click the More link under the History category. Note that you can browse the list of topics alphabetically. Choose a topic. Which topic did you choose? Explora Scavenger Hunt Secondary School Edition 2 Page ID: #7621 EBSCO Information Services Last update: September 2015

20 Click on the topic link and answer the following: a. How many search results did you get? b. How many Associated Press Videos are displayed? Browse through some of the articles about your topic to learn more. Click the Full Text link to read a complete article. Name 2 interesting facts you learned: c. d. Now drag the Publication Date slider so that you are only searching among results published between 1980 and the present. (You can also manually enter the dates in the boxes.) Now how many results appear? Note: If at any time you wish to preview a record, click the preview icon. 9. Explora also allows you to save articles to a personal folder. If you wish to save a record, click the folder icon from the search results page, or click under the Tools menu on the detailed record page. Be sure to Sign In to your personal account if you wish the items to be saved beyond your current session. If you need help, ask your teacher or librarian. Go ahead and add a few items to your personal folder. Once you ve done this, click the folder link in the top toolbar to see what you ve compiled. It should look like the image below. To delete items, place an item in the check box and click Delete Items. From this screen you can also print, , save or export the citations. In addition, you can bookmark or annotate your results using the Create Note feature. Reminder: You must Sign In to your personal account in order to store notes beyond your current session. Congratulations, you re finished! Feel free to explore Explora on your own to find more helpful features and interesting content. Remember to ask your teacher or instructor if you have any questions! Note to instructors: Because the vast majority of questions have no single correct answer, no answer key is provided. Explora Scavenger Hunt Secondary School Edition 3 Page ID: #7621 EBSCO Information Services Last update: September 2015