Table of Contents

Overview

Advantages of using the Search Assistant

What to type in the search box

How to decide which boxes to check

Subject-area searching

How to make sense of the results

How to get back to the results screen

If you get no matches on a search

If you want to do a new search

If you want access to all of the Library's databases

If you have a question

Overview

With the UIUC Library’s Search Assistant, you can simultaneously search a subset of library databases with just one click. Enter your search terms in the box and click the “perform search” button. Your results will show how many hits you got in each of the databases that were searched, and you can go directly to the search as performed in that database. This will connect you to citations to articles, full text articles, and links to full text articles.

Advantages of using the Search Assistant

The Library subscribes to many different databases to help our users find articles in journals, magazines and newspapers. In addition, we have our own database, called the UIUC Online Catalog, which has all of the titles of the books, government reports, journals and newspapers we own. (But it doesn’t have the titles of the articles that are published in those journals and newspapers, which is why we need those other databases to find articles). There is also a similar online catalog database called I-Share for the books, reports and journal titles held in other academic libraries throughout Illinois.

For most information needs, it is necessary to search more than one of these databases, because they each index a different subset of library resources. The Search Assistant saves time, because you can perform the same search across several of these databases at once rather than doing them one at a time.

What to type in the search box

Type the word(s) or phrase(s) that best describe the information you want to find:

disabilities

You can narrow your search by searching more than one word. To search for results that include multiple words, type in all of the words. (You don’t have to use and.):

disabilities accommodations

To search for a phrase, put quotation marks around it:

“americans with disabilities act”

You can also use a combination of words and phrases:

accommodations “americans with disabilities act”

How to decide which boxes to check

The Search Assistant automatically searches a few wide-ranging databases of journal and magazine articles. However, you can check (or uncheck) any boxes on the left-hand side of the search screen that correspond to the type of information sources you do (or do not) want to retrieve.

Subject-area searching

You can limit your search to databases that cover a specific subject area such as Business or Engineering. Click on “Click for Specific Subject Areas” to see which subject-specific searches are available.

How to make sense of the results

Results are listed in categories corresponding to the type of database searched. Click on “___ Article Matches” or “___Title Matches” to see the results from the search of that database. A new browser window will open and you’ll be taken to that database. These are databases that the Library subscribes to (i.e. the Library pays them to give our users access), but they’re not run by the Library, so they each work differently. If you have a question once you’re in one of the databases, look for a “help” link, or Ask a Librarian for help.

“Discover” = links to full text

If you see a record for an article you want to read, look for a link that says something like “full text.” If you don’t see such a link, look for a dark blue and orange “Discover” button. Clicking on the “Discover” button will take you to a screen that will provide links to the full text of that article if it is available in any of the databases the Library subscribes to.

To get back to the results screen

If you have clicked on one of the Article/Book matches links and now you want to get back to the Search Assistant results screen, close or minimize your browser window.

If you get no matches on a search

If you receive no matches from certain databases, there may be no books/articles in those databases that correspond to your search terms. If you receive no matches in any database, try the following:

• Use alternative words (synonyms) in your search.
• Check your spelling to make sure it was correct.
• Make sure you did not type a sentence or question in the search box.
• Select a different set of databases to search.

If you want to do a new search

To get back to the search screen, click on “Return to Search Form” at the bottom of the results screen.

If you want access to all of the Library’s databases

The Library subscribes to more than 200 databases, and the Search Assistant includes only a small selection of these. Use UIUC Library’s Online Research Resources page if you want to use a database that is not included in the Search Assistant.

If you have a question

If you have a question about using the Search Assistant, or if it seems not to be working properly, Ask a Librarian for help.

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