Zoological Record Search Guide: UVM Libraries

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Zoological Record Search Guide

Recommended Search Mode	For all but the most complex searches, the basic search mode (the default) is most effective.
Truncation or Wildcard	* serves as a substitute for one or several characters within a word or at the end of a word or root word. Example: technolog* [finds records containing technology, technologies, technological] ? serves as a substitute for a single character within a word or at the end of a word. Example: behavio?r [finds records containing behavior, behaviour]
Connectors	and finds records that contain both terms. [narrows a search] Example: vermont and* elementary* or finds records that contain either or both terms. [broadens a search] Example: elementary or primary not finds records that contain one term but not another. [narrows a search] Example: bear not* grizzly* adj finds records that contain both terms next to each other in the same order as you typed them. Example: dyslexia adj* treatments* near finds records that contain both terms in the same sentence, in the same or reverse order of your search statement. You may add a number after the "near" to indicate the number of words that may appear between the search terms. Example: buddhist near* temple* Example: glacier near2* lake* Note: If you enter search terms with no Connector, SilverPlatter searches the words as if you had used near2.
Nesting	Use parentheses ( ) to group words and indicate the order of processing. Search terms and Connectors within parentheses are processed separately as a unit and then combined with the remaining search strategy. Example: (octopus or squid) and reproduction
Field Searching	Click Search Builder. Type your search term(s) in the search box(es), and highlight the chosen field(s) from the drop-down list(s).
Controlled Vocabulary (Subject Headings)	To search by subject heading, click Thesaurus on the right of the screen. Type your term in the search box and click Go to Subject. From list of relevant subject headings, check the ones of interest and click Search Checked Subjects.
Limits	Language, date, document type, and more, depending on the database. Click Set Other Limits. (Limits stay in effect until you clear them.)
Displaying Records	Results are listed in brief format. To display a long record with abstract, click on the record number. You may change the display format by clicking Change Display.
E-Mailing Records	First mark the records you want to e-mail by clicking in the boxes to the left of the records. (To mail the complete set of search results, do not mark any records.) Then click E-mail, complete the form, and click Mail Records.
Printing Records	First mark the records you want to print by clicking in the boxes to the left of the records. (To print the complete set of search results, do not mark any records.) Then click Print, complete the form, and click Print Records. Click OK in the message box that appears. Then use your Web browser to print. (Select File from the browser's menu bar, and choose Print.)
Saving Records to Disk	First mark the records you want to save by clicking in the boxes to the left of the records. (To save the complete set of search results, do not mark any records.) Then click Save, complete the form, and click Save Records. When naming the file, save it as a text file, using .txt as the file extension. Finally, click Save.
Special Icons and Commands	Combine Checked: Combine the results from two or more searches by checking the boxes to the left of the "Search" numbers. Under "Combine using:" select either "and" or "or" to indicate how you want your searches combined, and click Combine Checked.

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