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AFBI Library Search Tips

This guide summarises how AFBI Library members can access AFBI Library e-resources and online databases to search for material relevant to their research. It also includes search tips that will help you to carry out basic literature searches. The development of effective search skills will enable you to quickly locate relevant information and avoid the frustration of being overwhelmed by hundreds of irrelevant search results.  Although the look and feel of each database is different, they have key search features in common which are described in this guide.  

AFBI Library members can access all e-resources from either on-site (at AFBI) or off-site (from home).  Access is available 24/7 from any device with an Internet connection. 

When you are accessing e-resources from either on-site or off-site, you will need to use your Library login, this is the username and password provided when you joined the Library, unless you have changed your password.  If you are unsure of your AFBI Library username and/or password, please get in touch via afbilib@qub.ac.uk.

  • Getting Started

    AFBI Library members can access all e-resources from either on-site (at AFBI) or off-site (from home).  Access is available 24/7 from any device with an Internet connection. 

    When you are accessing e-resources from either on-site or off-site, you will need to use your Library login, this is the username and password provided when you joined the Library, unless you have changed your password.  If you are unsure of your AFBI Library username and/or password, please get in touch via afbilib@qub.ac.uk

    You should use AFBI Library as a starting point and use the following services to search:

    Most databases provide basic and advanced search options.

    A basic search (usually a single search box) is a quick and easy way to get results. It uses free text searching which finds any mention of your search term in the database records. However, this also means that your subject may not be the main focus of the articles, so be prepared to retrieve some articles of only marginal interest.

    An advanced search allows you to specify the field in which you want to find your search term. Typical fields include author, article title, journal title, abstract, subject headings, publisher and publication date. Multiple search boxes allow you to structure more complex queries.

    Keywords or subject terms

    You must be clear about the subject of your search which will often involve more than one topic. Identify the single words or short phrases which describe the key elements and then think of any synonyms, related words, acronyms or common abbreviations which are associated with them. Searching for all these possibilities will increase the number of hits.

    E.g. Vaccines for bovine tuberculosis

    vaccines

    Vaccine, vaccination vaccine development, immunisation, immunization, DNA, mRNA etc.

    bovine

    Cattle, cow, ruminant

    tuberculosis

    Mycobacterium bovis, TB, mycobacterium tuberculosis

     

  • Search Tips

    Truncation

    Truncation replaces the end of a search term with a symbol, usually an asterix (*). This allows you to retrieve not just the root word but all of its possible endings. E.g. vaccin* will return vaccine, vaccines, vaccination etc.


    Wildcard

    a wildcard symbol, usually a question mark (?) or asterisk (*) replaces non or more letters in the middle of a search term so that variations in the spelling can be retrieved. E.g. behavio?r will find behaviour or behavior.

     

    Combining search terms

    Search terms can be used in combination to broaden or narrow the scope of your search using the Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT which work as follows:

    AND narrows your search by finding documents which contain all the terms. E.g vaccines AND tuberculosis will find documents which contain both terms

    OR broadens your search by finding documents which contain at least one of the terms. E.g. vaccines or vaccination will find results that contain either term.

    NOT excludes terms so that each search result does not contain any of the terms that follow it.


    Identifying Search Terms

    Most databases provide a mechanism for identifying search terms. These include:

    Indexes - An index is an alphabetical list of terms used in a specific field of a database, e.g. author, journal title, subject terms. By browsing or searching an index you may discover various spellings of an author’s name, subject terms etc. Once you have identified appropriate spellings and terms you can then submit a search for those terms. 

    Controlled Vocabulary – Some databases use controlled vocabulary to index topics under a standard heading. Consequently, all e.g. journal articles about, or pertinent to, a particular concept, can be found using the representative term. By selecting terms from a controlled vocabulary you are more likely to find relevant articles.

    Thesaurus - A thesaurus is a standardised vocabulary index. It differs from other indexes in that it includes the relationship between words and phrases. In this sense it identifies broader terms, narrower terms or related terms. It therefore has a hierarchical structure. The thesaurus is normally restricted to a specific subject field. A thesaurus is often used to create a controlled vocabulary index.

    Descriptors This type of index is compiled using the controlled vocabulary or thesaurus index. Descriptors are sometimes known as subject headings.

    As databases may refer to specific indexes by different names, it is important to become familiar with the variety of search options offered by each online resource.


    Limiting search results

    There are other ways to focus your search:

    Language – filter out articles written in a foreign language.

    Year – specify a range of years so that you find e.g. articles published in the last 5 years.

    Publication type – specify the type of document you want e.g. research article, book review.

  • Managing Your Results

    When you first display the results of your search, you may only see the bibliographic details (author, date, title and source). More details including the abstract are usually available by clicking on the link provided.

    Click on the ‘Check full text availability’ link which will link to the full text of the journal online where available or to request articles not available online.

    Alerts – databases will allow you to save your search and set up alerts to find new references and email the results to you.

    EndNote Reference Management Software enables you to save results in a bibliographic format.  You can then cite the results as references in your Word document.  Contact the Library for information or training on using EndNote.

     

  • Place Request link and Inter Library Loans
  • Further Help

    If you require further guidance on database searching please contact the Library via afbilib@qub.ac.uk


    AFBI Library staff also provide research support via the following channels:

    The Literature Search Request Form – please use this form if you would like a Specialist Librarian to run a literature search on your behalf.  Results can be emailed as a word document or EndNote Library.

    Ask Us – please use this link for contact details of your Specialist Librarians and to use the live chat app to submit enquiries.

    EndNote Support - Specialist Librarians have full access to EndNote software and related support and can provide solutions to any issues you have.

    Bibliometric enquiries (e.g. h-indices, publications, journal quartiles) can be submitted to afbilib@qub.ac.uk .