Database Searching Guide

TOOLS FOR WORKING WITH YOUR SEARCH RESULTS

While these are slightly less uniform, most databases in our collections have some version of the features described below, which can be of enormous value in working further with your research.  It is worth seeking them out in the databases you are using

E-link

The E-link allows you to see whether the full text of an article might be available elsewhere in our database connection when the online full text is not immediately attached to the record. It will similarly reveal any print versions of the book or journal is available through either our BorrowDirect consortial partnerships or Interlibrary Loan more widely.

Marking/Selecting/"Adding to Folder”

Usually a check-box or similar tool that allows one to create a set of selected items either just for the search session or for longer periods. A link to “Marked Records,” “MarkedList,” “Folder,” “My List,” etc. enables one to access these records for further use.

Resizing and sorting list of results

This feature can make it much easier to browse through a list of results and to quickly identify duplicate records within a search result.

Downloading citations (and sometimes full text) to bibliographic software

A software program such Zotero can be a powerful tool for organizing and writing with the results of your database research. Citations for the first two can be downloaded by marking records and then looking for the “export/download” option on main screen or marked list. In the case of Zotero, an icon in the URL window of your browser enables you to capture the citation and sometimes content to that program. You can read more about the Columbia Libraries citation management support at this page.