Help with E-Resources

E-Resource Gateway

Custom Search allows you to choose several databases and search them all at the same time.

There are two important things to remember when using Custom Search:

1. Only databases with checkboxes can be searched together
2. You can choose up to 8 databases

There are five ways that you can do a Custom Search:

• Categories: Search databases in a particular Subject Area.
• My Databases: This is available only if you are Logged In. Search databases that are on your Clipboard or in a quickset that you've created (for more info, see My Research).
• Quicksets: Select one of the Library's QuickSearch sets and use those databases to custom search.
• More Options: Choose criteria such as "By Subject" and "Database Type" and get a list of databases that fit that criteria to search.
• New Databases: Get a list of new databases to custom search.

Custom Search by Categories

Databases are assigned to various subject areas by Library subject specialists.

To do a custom search of searchable databases in a particular subject area:

• Choose a Subject Area from the By Subject dropdown menu
• Then select a subcategory from the Sub Categories: window
• Click the checkboxes of the databases you want to search together
• Enter your search topics and then click the Search button

Remember: Only databases that can be searched together have checkboxes, and you can select up to 8.

Custom Search using My Databases

The My Databases function in Custom Search allows you to search using the databases you've collected in My Research.

You must be Logged In to use this function.

In order to use My Databases as a Custom Search, first you have to create your own database list and databases sets to use:

1. Locate your database using Select a Database.
2. Click on the Add to My Research (Login) symbol next to the desired database name to add the item to your Clipboard.
3. Click on My Research tab at the top of the screen, then choose My Databases in the menu.
4. Move desired database from the Clipboard to the temporary set by clicking on the Move database arrow.
5. Save the temporary set under a new name by clicking on the Save As disc.

Once you've created your own databases list and sets, do a Custom Search on them by following these steps:

1. Click on the Custom Search tab
2. Choose My Databases from the Select Search Type: dropdown menu
3. Select either the Clipboard (which is a list of all your collected databases) or one of your saved sets
4. Click the checkboxes of the databases that you want to search
5. Enter your search topic and click the Search button

Remember: Only databases that can be searched together have checkboxes, and you can select up to 8.

Custom Search by Quicksets

Quicksets are the QuickSearch sets that the Library has set up. To custom search these:

1. Select Quicksets from the Select Search Type: dropdown menu
2. Choose one of the Quicksets by clicking on it
3. Unclick any resource that you do not want searched (if any)
4. Enter your search topic and click the Search button

Remember: Only databases that can be searched together have checkboxes, and you can select up to 8.

Custom Search using More Options

You can select a group of databases by specifying various criteria, such as subject category and database type. You will get a list of databases that match your criteria, at which point you can select which ones you want to search together (provided they have checkboxes).

The thing to remember is that the more you add criteria, the smaller your list becomes. This is because every database has to match ALL of the criteria you've chosen.

The five ways you can select matching criteria are:

• Database Titles: any word or words you enter into this box have to be in the actual title of the database
• Database Vendor: use this only if you know what vendor a database is purchased from
• Subject Browse: This is a dropdown menu that allows you to select databases in a particular subject area
• Any Word: This is a keyword search for databases
• Database Type: Use this to narrow the type of databases you want to gather, such as "Article Database"

To do a custom search using More Options, follow these steps:

1. Select More Options from the Select Search Type: dropdown menu
2. Choose your criteria by entering terms (Database Title, Database Vendor, Any Word) and/or using the dropdown menus (Subject Browse, Database Type)
3. Click the get list arrow at bottom
4. Click the checkboxes of the databases you want to search
5. Enter your search topic and click the Search button

Remember: Only databases that can be searched together have checkboxes, and you can select up to 8.

Custom Search New Databases

Databases are listed as "new" for five months once they've been added to the Library's E-Resource Gateway.

To do a custom search of new databases, follow these steps:

1. Select New Databases from the Select Search Type: drop down menu
2. Click the checkboxes of the databases you want to search
3. Enter your search topic and click the Search button

Remember: Only databases that can be searched together have checkboxes, and you can select up to 8.

Search Results

Once you've done a custom search and retrieved results, there are a number of things you can do with your results list.

• You can select articles/records on your list and save them for future use by clicking on the Add to My Research basket (see My Research for more info.)
• You can click on the article/record title to see the Full View of that article/record, where you can:
  • Save the article/record for future use by clicking on the Add to My Research basket
  • Save the article/record to your computer or disk by clicking on the Save disk
  • Email the article/record by clicking on the Send
  • See your search term(s) highlighted in the text
  • To go back to your results list, click on the Results List link
• You can click on the database title to go directly to the database's own web site
• You can click on the to see Library holdings of the item

Refine your Results

If you want to refine your search results, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Refine link
2. You will see your search statement (with number of results) at the top
3. Select And/Not to get fewer results OR select Or to get more results
4. Choose what to search from the dropdown menu
5. Add your search term(s)

Saving your Searches

You must be Logged In in order to save your searches.

If you want to keep a search for future use, it is necessary to save your search. Be sure to do this if you will be away from your research for awhile, because unsaved searches are lost when you are logged out for inactivity or log yourself out.

To save your search, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Previous Searches link in the Custom Search menu
2. Locate your search and click the Save Search

Once you've saved a search you can click on the My History shortcut link to jump to where your saved searches are stored.

Two other things you can do on the Previous Searches screen are click on the search name to run the search again, and click on the "# databases" link to see the list of databases that were searched.