Select the Proquest Database. The Basic Search will be highlighted for you in bright orange. This option lets you search quickly and easily. Enter your topic in the search bar. Use as specific terms as possible.
LIMITING THE SEARCH (OPTIONAL)
- Database - Using the drop-down feature , you can limit the types of databases that you search (Multiple Databases, Education-Career and Technical Education, or Medical Sciences-ProQuest Nursing Journals).
- Date Range - This feature allows you to limit the search by date.
- Full Text Documents only - Check this box if you want the entire text of the article, not just the citation. (Articles that are not full text may still be available in hard copy in the TTC library or one of the libraries in the Charleston Area Library Consortium (The Citadel, C of C, CSU, MUSC, or the any branch of the Charleston County Public Library system) and can be obtained through our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) agreement.
- Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed - Check this box if you wish to limit the search only to scholarly (i.e., academic) journals. Peer-reviewed means that the article is reviewed and approved by peers (experts) in that same field before it is published.
- More Search Options - Clicking on this grey tab enables you to further limit your search by publication, author, where you term is found within an article, document type, etc. The “Look for terms in” option allows you to search for your topic in the “Citation and Document Text” or the “Citation and Abstract.” Searching within “Citation and Abstract” is more likely to find articles more relevant to your needs.
After limiting your search, click on Search, and a results list will appear. Note the number of results (“hits”) that are found.
OTHER FEATURES:
Look at your results list. Note the following icons/options appear under the title of each article:
- Full text gives you an abstract (brief summary) PLUS the complete text of the article.
- Abstract gives the citation for the article plus a brief summary
- Page image-PDF pulls up the article as it actually looked in the hard copy of the journal because the article and any graphics were scanned into the database.
Double-click on an article title to get the article.
RETRIEVAL OPTIONS:
- Print – Select the Print button to print out the article. Click OK on the Print window to print the article.
- Email – Select the Email button to send the article to your home computer. This pulls up an e-mail page with several options:
Citation option allows you to choose MLA, APA, etc., styles for your bibliographical citation
Article length allows you to e-mail full-text article, abstract only, etc.
HTML/Plain text are options for e-mailing text. Choose Plain text, which supports all e-mail programs; HTML does not support all e-mail programs.
Type in your name, home e-mail address, a subject and brief message if desired. Click on Send Email.
Marking Documents/Lists
You have the option of marking an article either within the full article or marking documents on the results list. You can then print out the list of citations, e-mail them home, or export them. After marking articles (making a list) you will see the the top tab labeled My Research has been highlighted orange with number of marked articles given.
OTHER SEARCH OPTIONS
The other tabs at the top provide different search options:
- Advanced search gives expert searchers the ability to create “powerful searches.”
- Topics allows you to type in a topic and pull up articles on that topic and related ones
- Publications allows you to search specific journals/publications for articles about your topic
HELP – The red HELP button is at the top right of the screen for search hints and other support.
