•+Searching+the+UVic+Libraries



**Keeping Organized**

The Libraries' webpage as a whole is carefully organized by the different types of information students, scholars, and instructors would be looking for. There are seven tabs under search: Start Here, Articles, Books and More, Databases, Journal Titles, Course Reserves, and Specialized Collections. Each category has its own format of the search engine to scan the databases.

**Start Here**

What is Summon?

Summon is a search engine that not only combs through UVic's own physical and electronic collections but also through hundreds of databases for over 80 million articles, journals, and ebooks throughout the rest of the web. Instead of having separate databases, Summon has combined them into one search box, much the same way as a Google search. This convenience does, however, provide it's own problems. Without knowing how to begin your search, the interface can be intimidating. As well, search results can be expansive and difficult to comb through. But, it is easy to avoid being overwhelmed by knowing and using the tools available.

The Start Here tab uses the same search configurement as it does for articles. It is not a bad place to begin if you have a vague idea of what you are looking for and you have no restrictions on which kind of material to use (such as journals, databases, or books) or you wish to find resources in more than one material type, as well. As an example, I typed in global warming. As the search produced 642,871 results, refining it will be necessary. __Table__ The table to the left contains six sections to perform a more focused search. The "Refine your search" box provides basic options but you can also select options in Content Type, Subject Terms, Publication Date, Library Location, and Language. __Sort by__ You can also organize your search by Relevance, Date (newest), and Date (oldest).



__Icons__ There are a few helpful icons to remember when gathering your material. First, there is the standard print icon that allows you to print your current page of results (assuming your computer is connected to a printer). The icon next to it allows you to subscribe to their RSS feed, which will keep you informed on any updates to the material. Next, if you scroll your cursor over an article or book, two icons become visible. One allows you to preview the item by recapping the information already shown along with a few other points you may find useful.



The other hidden icon, Saved Items, will temporarily save any results you select to a temporary file. From that file, you can email the item, print it, view it in different forms of citation, or export it to other useful sites to help you format bibliographies.



HelpfulTip

In every search bar you can use quotation marks (" ") for phrases. These can focus your searches greatly by only finding materials that include all the words inside the quotation marks. As an example, I used global warming again. The previous search has been reduced from 642,871 to 172,009.



Advanced Search

Advanced Search is useful if you have an idea of what you're looking for, such as an article by a specific person or a certain journal's volume. You can limit or expand your results using show only, exlude from results, and expand from results. You can exit out of the Advanced Search engine by clicking the link to Basic Search.



**Articles**

As mentioned earlier, the Article search engine is the same as the one used under the Start Here tab. But the Articles tab also has other options for searching, such as Quick Search and Custom Search. Both searches can be preferable depending on what you are looking for.

Quick Search

Quick Search focuses your search based on academic topics, such as health, science, and music. After you make a selection, it will scan only the databases containing articles about your chosen topic. The topic "global warming" searches the databases Environmental Index (EBSCO) and Web of Science (ISI). Although the results may look a little more confusing than the other search bars, it is easy to use it effectively once it is broken down and explained.



__Table__ The table to the right separates the articles by Topic, Dates, Authors, and Journal Titles. __Sort by__ Like the Start Here search, you can sort the results in different ways. The default is Rank but you can also search by Author, Title, Year, or Database. __Records retrieved__ Each search will retrieve 60 articles, 10 per page. If you wish to view more pages you can click "retrieve more" until all found results are available. __Views__ There are three ways to view the results. Table View, the default lists the articles by Number, Ranks, Author, Title, Year, and the Database it is available on. Brief View shows Number and Rank and then all other information is under its own column. Full View provides every detail available about the article.



__Icons__ There are five icons often shown for each article. When viewing full text there are icons in the top right that allow you to see the original format of the article, send it via email to yourself or another, save the article to your computer, or add it to the basket. When the basket icon is clicked, the article is temporarily saved under My Research listed at the top left of the page. These three icons can be seen on all three views, although the last two are not always available. The basket icon is the same one explained above, so will temporarily save the article under My Research. Clicking FT (Full Text) may bring you directly to the full article or may open a window that shows links to more than one website that contains the article. The S (SFX) icon will also do the same thing as the FT but if there is no available article online than it will show links to get it from our library or other libraries.

Helpful Tip

Quick Search allows you to use truncation (?) as well as phrase marks.Truncation expands your search by finding results for different tenses of words and similar words. For example, typing in assassin? searches for assassinate, assassination, assassinated, and assassin.



996 results were found using trunction while typing in only assissin found only 84 results.

Custom Search

Instead of showing articles on databases, custom search shows you what databases will have the articles your search describes.The basic way of searching is the default, however, More Options allows you to limit your search by Subject, Title, and Author and words such as And, Or, and Without. __Search Type__ There are three different search types for Custom Search: Quick Sets, Categories, and More Options. Categories works much the same way as Quick Search but you can see all the databases in the different categories and click on a specific one, instead.

Quick Sets shows what databases are available under specific subjects, as well, but you will only search through a specific one.



More Options is best used if you have a specific article or database you are searching for. The Database Type scroll-down window suggests databases such as Library, Museum, and Encyclopedia.



__Subject__ For student, the only Subject option at present is UVic Subjects. __Icons__ There are two icons available before the search is pressed. The "i" (Information) icon shows information on the database such as the publisher, type of index, description, and the categories it can be found under. The + icon sets the selected database to My Sets which can be found under My Databases at the top of the screen. Unlike the basket, your clipboard of databases will remain there for you to edit, save (under a specific set name), or delete.

**Databases**

The Database tab is a good place to search if you are looking to dig through specific databases. If you click on the tab, there is a list of the most popular databases such as WEbCat and JSTOR. Under Other Options, the most useful link is All Databases A-Z. As shown below, you can search by Title, Subject, or the Custom Search's More Options. Under title there are easy-to-use limitors on the right and bottom of the search bar.



Once a search is performed,a list of databases will be shown. You can view them in Table View and Brief View and have the same icon options as Custom Search as well as a third that allows you to search for articles within the database.



**Books and More**

Books and More searches for actual hard copy material in the McPherson library such as books, music, journals, and newspapers as well as their databases' electronic material. On the main page, you can use the basic search bar by looking under Author, Title, or Keyword with limitors such as 2000-, Call Number, or Main Library. Boolean and other limitors work if Keywords (with boolean) is selected. __Refine your results__ To limit the material found, you can click any of the filters to the right. There are 14 filters to choose from. __Sort by__ The results can be sorted by Relevance, Author, Title, Date (earliest to latest), and Date (latest to earliest). __Buttons__ There is the option to edit your search, which will bring you back to the last screen; save your search, which you can access by clicking Saved Searches at the top of the page; and Save Search as Alert, which will send you emails about your search on a frequency you can select on your Saved Searches page. The three buttons belows those allow you to select on any or all of the material on the page and either Print brief or full records of the material; Export their citation to bibliography sites such as EndNote; and Add to List which will save them to My List at the top of the page to Print, Export, or Delete later on.



Advanced Search

The Books and More Advanced Search allows you to perform more exacting searches. It allows you to search using more of Basic Search's limitors, as well as new ones, within the same search. The Advanced Search page also shows 5 more tabs to choose; Subject, Author, Course Reserves, New Titles, and Video Browse. It also has a Search History option, as well.



Helpful Tip If there is a book, journal, or video you want that is not available through the library's database than you can order it in from another library by using their Not @ UVic page found either by performing a search or under their Using the libraries tab. After clicking "Get an item from another library," simply select what you need, log in, and fill out the form to the best of your ability. Not every box needs to be filled in. Your item shouldn't take longer than a week to arrive at the destination you selected.



**Journal Titles**

This tab focuses specifically on journals. You can search by the first word of the title in Basic Search or choose to browse through them alphabetically under E-Journals A-Z. There is also a search option under E-Journals A-Z that allows you to use more limitors or browse by subject instead.



**Course Reserves**

Course Reserves allows instructors to make available to their students articles useful or necessary for their class. By typing in the instructor's name and selecting the course, the articles are shown much the same way as material under Books and More. This tab is not very useful to a researcher or professional writing student unless you know a useful article is available by an instructor for a specific class.

**Specialized Collections**

This section is definitely useful when researching historical items or information as well as student theses. Although the library's collections are more limited than one you may find in a museum, they are descriptive and easy to find. The Collections are organized in two sections: A-Z or by section or topic, as seen below. Each topic is organized in its own individual style with links to their own UVic library page or off-site. (Although there is an Advanced Search option it is currently not working.)



Helpful Tip If you wish to access any rare books and archival materials, they are held in the Special Collections department of the McPherson Library located in the Mearns Centre for Learning, room A005. Any member of the public may access the collection.

**And Finally...** The best way to become competent with anything is to practice; poke around; experiment. And ask questions. The McPherson library has a Research Help counter for a reason. There are very friendly librarians there specifically to help students and researchers like yourself. So take the time to learn the tools available and you will find researching through the UVic Libraries is easier and more effective. 