Keyword search
Use a Keyword Search when you don't know the author, title or subject heading.
On the Keyword Search screen, are three Search Terms boxes into which you type your search words or keywords. Use one, two or all three of these boxes.
Next to Field, there are drop-down boxes which give you the choice of searching by author, title or subject. If you don't know any of these, leave the selection set at All.
Connect your search words by selecting AND OR NOT NEAR from the drop-down boxes.
Use these tips to save you time.
Example : Looking for resources on the effects of tourism on the culture of a country.
In the top Search Box type: culture. In the middle Search Box type: tourism. Leave AND as the connecting word in the drop-down box on the right.
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Not enough results? Try thinking of words with the similar or same meaning as your keywords, and use OR to connect them.
Example: Looking for resources on journalism in Asia
A search using journalism AND Asia will produce less than 10 results. Try thinking of other words for journalism, for example, media.
In the top Search Box type: journalism. From the drop-down box select OR as the connecting word. In the middle Search Box type: media. From the drop-down box select AND as the next connecting word. In the bottom Search Box type: Asia.
The search strategy, (journalism OR media) AND Asia, should produce over 20 results.
For example: Looking for books on tourism and its influence on the culture of a country.
Searching using the words, tourism AND culture, will produce over 60 results. Add another word to your search terms to restrict your results and make them more focussed.
The search strategy, tourism AND culture AND Japan, will produce less than 10 results.
For example: to find resources on Pollution but excluding Water Pollution. In the top Search Box type: pollution. Select NOT from the drop-down box, as the connecting word. In the middle Search Box type: water.
Typing an asterisk at the end of a word stem, will give you all the variations of the word. For example: Instead of searching for pollution OR pollutes OR polluted OR polluting just type pollut* and this will also search for all the different endings. Another example: touris* and cultur* and Japan*.
Typing a ? within a word will stand for one letter. This is useful for the American and British spelling. Organi?ation will retrieve results containing both organisation and organization.
From the Format List under Limit By select Videos and DVDs. then enter your keywords in the Search Terms box as normal.
Want only recently published resources?
Under Limit By you can limit your results by date range. Under Publication Date enter your date range. For example: 2000 - 2005.
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