Access and Logging on
InfoTrac provides access to index citations, abstracts and (for many but not all journals) the full-text of articles of general academic interest in the sciences and humanities and in the health sciences. The database collections JCU subscribes to are:
Expanded Academic ASAP (1980+)
Access is gained via:
Expanded Academic and Health Reference Center are cross searchable and can be selected from the menu page below. Select the database(s) you wish to search and click submit to proceed.
Figure 1: Database Selection Page
Basic Searching
InfoTrac searches for your words within two words of each other in either direction (to allow for variations). You can use AND, OR, NOT, parentheses, quotes and the * truncator to refine your search strategy.
When a search fails to bring desired results, users are given alternative spellings and preferred search terms.
Select a search option by clicking one of the radio buttons below the Find box.
You can limit (or narrow) your search when you click the More search options link on a search input page.
Clicking the Previous Searches button on the toolbar displays a history of the searches you've conducted during your current session. The most recent search result set, is at the top of the list with a maximum of 50 result sets displayed.
Other Search Options
Subject Guide Search
Search the Subject Guide when you want to browse a listing of subjects, people, products, locations and organizations that contain word or words you entered. From this listing (known as the Subject Guide), you can select a term and see a results list of citations, or navigate through the Subject Guide by selecting subdivision and related subjects links.
Publication Search
Publication Search allows you to search for publications by title. Types of publications may include magazines, journals, newspapers, reference works, and other source materials, depending on the database(s) you are searching. After entering all or part of a title, you will browse the Publication Guide to view publication information, such as ISSN/ISBN, publisher, and coverage information. From there you can select a specific publication, and then narrow your search to a specific edition, volume, or issue. Once you have selected an edition, volume, or issue, you'll see a results list of available documents in ascending page number order, as you would find in a table of contents.Advanced Search
Advanced Search presents you with a framework for building as simple or as complex a search expression as you want. You can search for terms (consisting of one or more words) from one index, or from multiple indexes linked by logical (Boolean) operators (AND, OR, NOT). If enabled, you may limit your search by clicking the More search options link.
CCL Advanced Search (Command Control Language) is a second way of doing an Advanced Search for those who prefer to structure their search query more like a programming code instruction. This allows you to choose indexes to search from a drop-down menu or to directly enter their two-character index abbreviations. Please see the InfoTrac Help files for more information on how to do this type of search.
Wildcards and Limits
Wildcards/truncation
|
Symbol |
No. of character matches |
Example |
Words Retrieved |
|
* |
Any |
pigment* |
pigment/pigments/pigmentation
|
|
! |
1 or 0 |
gr!y
|
gray/grey |
|
? |
1 |
psych????y
|
psychology/psychiatry |
Limiting
You can limit (or narrow) your search when you click the More search options link on a search input page (note that this link may not be available for all types of searches). You can also limit your search results to full text or peer reviewed. You can also view different categories within the results, eg magazines, academic journals, books.
Viewing Results
If your search is successful, you will see a results list page with citations matching your search criteria on the right-hand side of the page. If no results can be found, you will given alternative options. To view an article, click on the appropriate option. You can view the citation or full page PDF or use the Find It button to search for full text.
You can also click the Mark box on the left of each record to mark it for later retrieval. You may collect up to 50 documents in your Marked Items list. Select the
Marked Items icon in the toolbar (at the top of the page) at any time to view your list.
Printing, Email and Downloading Records
To Print, Email or Download records either click on an individual record or click on the marked list. A Tools Box will be displayed.
You can print documents of any type with any content from the document display page. Clicking the Print icon on the toolbar will cause the document to be re-displayed in a separate browser window without the title banner, navigation bar, etc. Any images or related subjects that originally appeared will also appear. Use your browser's Print function to print the document then close the window when you're done.
Documents can be e-mailed to you or others by clicking the E-mail icon located on the toolbar.
You may download the document you are currently viewing as a file to be saved on your computer or to diskette. Click the Download icon on the toolbar to display the Download options page. Then choose the download format. Select HTML to download the selected items using formatted text with active hyperlinks to this database, or select Plain Text to download the selected items in text-only format.
Citation Tools. Click on citation tools to Export to Bibliographic software like Endnote. There is also an option to save records in the APA or MLA referencing style.
Ending
When you click the Logout button on the Title bar , you will be presented with the choice to go to your library's home page, start a new session, or close the window and exit this database.
Help
Help is available online by clicking on Help in the toolbar at the top of the page, alternately you can ask or email InfoHelp.
Need further assistance?
Ask InfoHelp
If this information is inadequate, incorrect, or can be improved in any way, please let us know