Let's look at an example search. You need to write a paper, so you head to the Library website to locate information on burnout in the nursing profession using the QuickSearch box on the Library homepage.
How should you create your search and interpret your results? Should you change the filters to get better results?
Performing a search in QuickSearch is similar to using a search engine - type in your keywords and click "Search".
By using AND to connect your key terms, and putting keyword phrases with more than one word in quotation marks (i.e. "key terms"), your search results will be more specific to your search terms.
On your results page, there are a few features to notice first when deciding what results are most relevant to you:
1. Quick Filters: Beneath the search bar on your results page you will see several filter options. These allow you to quickly and easily filter your results by common search needs such as peer reviewed articles or full text online. One thing to note is that the options in these quick filters are more limited than in the "All filters" panel. For example, the date ranges available in the "all time" drop-down are preset whereas you can set a custom date range in the "All filters" panel.
2. Source Type: QuickSearch will provide results of various source types – books, ebooks, articles, and videos. The type of source will be listed at the top of each result. To limit to certain source types, use the quick filter under the search bar or open the filter panel by clicking the "All filters" button under the search bar and checking the appropriate box. For example, check the box for "News" to see only news articles.
3. Viewing a Record: To view each record, click "view details" or click on the title of the item. Here you will see more information such as full summaries or abstracts, items locations, and access links.
For more information on filtering your results, see the "Using Filters" tab.
| At the top of the filter bar, you will find any filters that are already active.
(1) Online full text: This first filter will show you resources that you can access in full online.
(2) At my library: This filter should be selected by default. It filters your results so that you only see resources that are available in our collection. If you would like to broaden your search to view resources outside of Pace's collection, you can uncheck this filter. Remember, if you find anything not in our collection you want access to, use interlibrary loan to get it for free!
(3) Peer reviewed: If you're looking for scholarly articles, use this filter to quickly filter the types of resources you see.
(4) Date Range: This filter allows you to narrow your results to resources published within certain date ranges. You can use the preselected ranges or click the "Custom Range" option and enter dates of your choosing.
(5) Content Provider: This filter allows you to limit your search to specific databases. This can be useful if you're searching within a specific field, such as medicine, and want to narrow your results to relevant databases such as MEDLINE.
(6) Source Type: You can use this filter to limit your results to one resource type such as academic journals, newspaper articles, magazines, and more.
(7) Subject: This filter allows you to limit your results to specific subject areas. For example, you can use this filter to narrow your search to a specific area such as occupational stress.
(8) Publication: Similar to the content provider filter, this filter allows you to limit your results to specific sources. This filter allows you to be even more specific and narrow your results to specific publications such as particular journals or magazines.
(9) Geography: This filter allows you to filter results based on locations that are in the resource. This filter does NOT filter by location of publication. For example, if you're doing research on heart disease in the United Kingdom you could use this filter to find results specifically related to the United Kingdom. |
