IMPORTANT NOTE: Always click on the ‘SUBMIT FORM'
button in order to perform a search; pressing the ‘ENTER' key does not work!
Keyword - an important word in the abstract, title, subject heading, or
text of an entry in an electronic database which can be used as a search
term.
Basic search
This mode
is suitable for either a very broad search (with just one keyword) or if you know
the exact title and author of a particular resource.
If you
would like to conduct a more specific search on a certain topic we suggest you
use the advanced search mode.
Advanced search
If you would like to know what the collection holds on a
certain subject matter, or you wish to conduct a more sophisticated search,
choose the advanced search.
This interface allows you to narrow or broaden your search.
In the drop-down box on the left, you choose the field you would like to search
in (you can use the same field, eg 'keyword' several times and combine various
fields).
In the drop-down menu on the right you can choose one of the
three boolean operators (and, or, and not) The most effective technique is to
search by ‘keyword'.
Truncation
Truncation allows you to search
the 'root' form of a word with all its different endings, as a way to broaden
your search.
It is a symbol put at the end or in
the middle of a word in order to catch all variant endings or spellings of that
word when searching a database.
If you
wanted to do research on computers, but also wanted to make sure you picked up
any records with the word computer or computing or computerised, you would put
a truncation symbol at the point in the word where various endings can begin to
occur. (eg comput*). The truncation symbol for this database is an asterisk
‘*'.
Online
documents
At
the end of the search form you'll find a drop-down menu called ‘Search in'
which allows you to search within categories. If you wish to limit your search
to documents that are available online, choose ‘online documents'. Click on the
item you are interested in (see also Search results) and the appropriate
hyperlink will be displayed.
Audiovisual
material
At
the end of the search form you'll find a drop-down menu called ‘Search in'
which allows you to search within categories. If you wish to limit your search
to audiovisual materials (video, DVD, CD-Rom), choose ‘audiovisual materials',
type in the topic you are looking for, e.g. "interpreter', then click on the
item you are interested in (see also Search results) and the bibliographic
details will be shown including a summary of the content.
Search
results
When you
completed typing in your search terms, you need to click on ‘submit form' (pressing the ‘enter' key will not
work) and the results of your search
will be displayed in another window titled ‘Brief
presentation of retrieved records'. It also shows you the number of records it
found.
If you want further bibliographic details of a particular
item (full record) you can click on it and it will show you all the catalogued
details. Click on the ‘back‘ button to return to the list. Alternatively you
can toggle all records you are interested in and at the end of the page you
click on ‘details' and a list will be displayed.
Please note: Once you are in the
full record of a particular work, you may search the engine using links
(highlighted in red) eg Subject, organisation, author entries, to look for
further related works.
Ask our librarian
If you need further advice to find exactly what you need, contact our librarian
on +61 3 9342 9707 or info@ceh.org.au and we
will be happy to help you with your search.