Tips for Using

GLOCAT

Periodical Indexes

 

Tips for using GLOCAT

1) There are 3 different search methods in GLOCAT - basic search, browse, and advanced search. Use the basic search if you know the exact author or title and want to perform a quick search. Subject and keyword searches are also available in the basic mode. A browse search will result in an alphabetical list of the terms entered. The browse capability will be useful if you are unsure of the spelling of an author's name or the correct subject heading. The advanced search allows users to combine different types of searches (e.g. author and title) for more specific results. Users are also able to limit their searches by language, material type, and date in the advanced mode.

2) Use AND, OR, NOT (Boolean operators) to combine your searches.

3) Use the truncation symbol, *, to expand the stem of a word and retrieve variations of a word.

Example: devel* will retrieve words like develop, developing, development, developments, etc.


4) Because GLOCAT does not recognize quotation marks as a method of combining two or more words together as a phrase, check "yes" when asked "words as a phrase?" This will allow users to group words together without using quotation marks.

5) To limit books and journal titles to a specific type of material, choose document type from the left pull down menu on the advanced search screen and enter the appropriate material type (e.g. reference, juvenile, government documents).

Examples: title=third world NOT document type=ref* (reference)
keyword=developing countries AND document type=per* (periodicals)
subject=economic development AND document type=gov* (government documents)

6) From the advanced search screen, users can limit their searches to language, date, and collection. To do this, use the pull down menus at the bottom of the screen, in conjunction with the search terms entered above.

7) To search for materials located outside of Milne Library, click on Library Links in the GLOCAT header and choose WorldCat.

 

Tips for searching different databases:

1) To get a list of the databases available to you from the Library, choose Resources by Subject, located under the Research Help tab on the Library's homepage. A list of databases in that subject area will appear along with descriptions of the types of materials and subjects available through that particular database.

2) Some of the different ways to search will vary on the database that you are using. Truncation symbols will not always be an asterisk (*) so the best way to find out what search techniques are available to different databases is to check the HELP screen which should always be provided in any online index you are using.

3) The same thing is true for proximity operators (near, with, adjacent). The symbols and ways to use these types of limiters will depend on what database you are using. Check the HELP screens for this kind of information!

4) Once you have a list of relevant sources and their citations, you can check to see if Milne Library owns the journal titles you need. You can:

  • check GLOCAT by performing a title search and limiting it to periodicals

Example: title=International Affairs and document type=per*

Once you've performed a GLOCAT search for a journal, check the availability under copies to verify the years owned by Milne Library, plus format (print, microfilm, online, etc.) and location (Milne, Fraser, Holcomb). If your journal is available in online format, you may be able to access your article in full-text format. From the availability screen, click on the Find Text button to see each of the individual options (print or online) for the needed journal.

  • click on Find Articles by Journal Title from the Find Articles tab on the Library's homepage and type in the necessary journal title to access the different availability options

  • or look through the Serials Holding List (big blue folders scattered around the library) which will list all the journal titles that Milne Library owns, along with their format (print, microfilm, or microfiche) and years of subscription

Keep in mind that some journals may have been cancelled along the way and others may have been subscribed to in the middle of a publication's run so we may not have all years of a particular journal title.

5) If Milne Library does not own a journal that you need, you can always request material through Information Delivery Services.

6) There is help available for citing sources, both print and electronic, on the Library's homepage.

 

 For any unanswered questions, please ask a reference librarian for help!

 

Questions or comments? E-mail Kim Davies Hoffman
This site last revised 8/15/07