QuickSearch for Articles

Use QuickSearch for Articles only as a first step in exploring a research topic. For in-depth results, search individual databases directly (i.e., via the native interface).

• QuickSearch retrieves results from a pre-selected set of databases.
• Directly searching an individual database can provide better ways to refine your search, such as limiting search results by language or to peer-reviewed items.

Printing, Emailing and Saving

• See Search Results in Custom Search

Locating Full Text or Print Copies

• Use Find It to locate full text or print copies of articles.

Simple QuickSearch

Note: Do not use quotation marks. Do not use the words: a, an, the.

1. Type keywords in the search box provided.
   Example: steroid? and baseball
2. Click on SEARCH.
3. Search results appear in order by relevancy.
   (Optional) Select YEAR from the SORT BY drop-down menu to sort results by date.
4. Click on NEXT to display more records.
5. Click on RETRIEVE MORE to display the next group of records in results set.

More Options in QuickSearch

1. Click on the MORE OPTIONS tab.
2. Select DATABASE TITLE and type keywords in search boxes provided. This can be a good way to narrow your search results.
   • (Optional) Select SUBJECT from the drop down menu. For best results, enter phrases as separate terms.
     Example: maps AND ancient (retrieves ancient maps, maps--ancient)
   • (Optional) Select AUTHOR from the drop down menu. Type the author's "last name," "first name" or "last name," and "first initial" followed by a truncation symbol. It is best to try both methods.
     Example: johnson, michael
     Example: johnson, m*
3. Click on SEARCH.

Combining Terms

• Use OR to connect similar terms. OR broadens your search.
  Example: ground water or groundwater
• Use AND to connect separate concepts. AND narrows your search.
  Example: cheese and wisconsin

Search Results

Once you've done a Quicksearch 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